A 


Captain   C.    F.    Hall. 

See  page  289 


NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES 


EMBRACING 


SKETCHES  OF  THE  IMPORTANT 
FACTS  AND  INCIDENTS 

IN  THE   LATEST 

AMERICAN  EFFORTS  TO  REACH 
THE  NORTH  POLE 

FROM  THE  SI- COX D  GRLX.YELL  EXPEDITION  TO  THAT 
OF  THE  POLARIS. 

•  BY    REV.  Z.    A.    MUDGE, 

AUTHOR  OF  u  VIEWS  FROM  PLYMOUTH  ROCK,"  u  WITCH  HILL,"  "ARCTIC 
HEROES,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


NEW   YORK : 
NELSON      &      PHILLIPS. 

CINCINNATI:    HITCHCOCK  &  WALDEN. 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL    DEPARTMENT. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1875,  by 

NELSON   &   PHILLIPS, 
in  the  Oflice  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


PREFACE. 


FOR  more  than  three  hundred  years  an  in 
tense  desire  has  been  felt  by  explorers  to 
discover  and  reveal  to  the  world  the  secrets  of 
the  immediate  regions  of  the- North  Pole.  Nor 
has  this  desire  been  confined  to  mere  adventur 
ers.  Learned  geographers,  skillful  navigators, 
and  scientific  men  of  broad  and  accurate  study, 
have  engaged  in  these  enterprises  with  enthu 
siastic  interest.  The  great  governments  of  the 
Christian  world  have  bestowed  upon  them  lib 
erally  the  resources  of  their  wealth  and  science, 
and  never  to  a  greater  extent  than  within  the  last 
three  years.  Failure  seems  but  to  stimulate 
exertion.  Scarcely  have  the  tears  dried  on  the 
faces  of  the  friends  of  those  who  have  perished 
in  the  undertaking  before  we  hear  of  the  de 
parture  of  a  fresh  expedition.  Something  like 
a  divine  inspiration  has  attended  these  explora 
tions  from  the  first,  and  their  moral  tone  has 
been  excellent. 


6  PREFACE. 

This  volume  sketches  the  latest  American 
efforts,  second  to  no  others  in  heroism  and  suc 
cess,  and  abounding  in  instructive  and  intensely 
interesting  adventures  both  grave  and  gay. 

We  have  followed  in  this  volume,  as  in  its 
companion  volume,  "  The  Arctic  Heroes,"  the 
orthography  of  Professor  Dall,  of  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution,  in  some  frequently-occurring 
Arctic  words. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PASR 

I.  NORTHWARD 9 

II.  ANCHORED  AT  LAST 17 

III.  THRILLING  INCIDENTS 23 

IV.  LOST  AND  RESCUED 31 

V.  MORE  HEROIC  EXCURSIONS 43 

VI.  THE  OPEN  SEA.... 53 

VII.  AN  IMPORTANT  MOVEMENT 60 

VIII.  TREATY  MAKING 68 

IX.  ARCTIC  HUNTING 75 

X.  THE  ESCAPING  PARTY 89 

XI.  A  GREEN  SPOT 99 

XII.  NETLIK 109 

XIII.  THE  HUT 120 

XIV.  ESQUIMO  TREACHERY 131 

XV.  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS 142 

XVI.  DRUGGED  ESQUIMO 150 

XVII.  BACK  AGAIN 160 

XVIII.  SCARES 171 

XIX.  SEEKING  THE  ESQUIMO 179 

XX.  DESERTERS 1 86 

XXI.  CLOSING  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  IMPRISONMENT.     194 
XXII.  HOMEWARD  BOUND 201 

XXIII.  NARROW  ESCAPES . 209 

XXIV.  ESQUIMO  KINDNESS 210 

XXV.  MELVILLE  BAY 221 

XXVI.  SAVED 228 

XXVII.  OFF  AGAIN 234 

XXVIII.  COLLIDING  FLOES 241 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAQB 

XXIX.  THE  WINTER  HOME 249 

XXX.  GLACIERS 255 

XXXI.  A  STRANGE  DREAM  AND  ITS  FULFILLMENT.  263 
XXXII.  THE  CROWNING  SLEDGE  JOURNEY 270 

XXXIII.  LAST  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 279 

XXXIV.  SOMETHING  NEW 287 

XXXV.  A  FEARFUL  STORM 295 

XXXVI.  THE  AURORA 304 

XXXVII.  THE  DYING  ESQUIMO 311 

XXXVIII.  CUNNING  HUNTERS 317 

XXXIX.  ROUND  FROBISHER  BAY ...  326 

XL.  THE  "  POLARIS  " 333 

XLI.  DISASTER 344 

XLII.  THE  LAST  OF  THE     POLARIS  " 357 

XLIII.  THE  FEARFUL  SITUATION 364 

XLIV.  THE  WONDERFUL  DRIFT 371 

XLV.  THE  WONDERFUL  ESCAPE 380 


CAPTAIN  C.  F.  HALL 2 

WALRUSES — A  FAMILY  PARTY 81 

CAPTAIN  BUDDINGTON 337 

UNLOADING  STORES  FROM  THE  "  POLARIS  " 345 

PERILOUS  SITUATION  OF  THE  "  POLARIS  " 354 


NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

NORTHWARD. 

THE  readers  who  have  been  with  us  before 
into  the  arctic  regions  will  recollect  the  good 
American  brig  Advance,  and  her  wonderful  drift 
during  five  months,  in  1851,  from  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Wellington  Channel,  until  she  was  dropped 
in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  by  the  ice-field  which  in 
closed  her.  Dr.  Kane,  then  her  surgeon,  took 
command  of  this  same  vessel,  in  1853,  for  another 
search  for  the  lost  Franklin.  We  have  seen  that 
the  place  of  Franklin's  disasters  and  death  was 
found  while  Kane  was  away  on  this  voyage,  so  the 
interest  of  the  present  story  will  not  connect  with 
that  great  commander,  except  in  the  noble  pur 
poses  of  its  heroes. 

The  Advance  left  New  York  on  the  thirtieth 
of  May,  having  on  board,  all  counted,  eighteen  men. 
Kind  hearts  and  generous  purses  had  secured  for 
her  a  fair  qutfit  in  provisions  for  the  comfort  of 
the  adventurers,  in  facilities  for  fighting  the  ice 
and  cold,  and  in  the  means  of  securing  desired 
scientific  results.  Of  the  thousands  who  waved 


io  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

them  a  kind  adieu  from  the  shore  many  said  sad 
ly,  "They  will  never  return." 

We  shall  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  officers 
and  men  as  we  voyage  with  them,  and  a  very 
agreeable  acquaintance  we  are  sure  it  will  be. 
The  rules  by  which  all  agreed  to  be  governed 
were  these  and  no  others  :  "  Absolute  obedience 
to  the  officer  in  command  ;  no  profane  swearing ; 
no  liquor  drunk  except  by  special  order." 

The  voyagers  touched  at  St.  John's,  and  among 
other  kindnesses  shown  them  was  the  gift  by  the 
governor  of  a  noble  team  of  nine  Newfoundland 
dogs. 

At  Fiskernaes,  the  first  Greenland  port  which 
they  entered,  they  added  to  their  company  Hans 
Christian,  an  Esquimo  hunter,  nineteen  years  of 
age.  Hans  was  expert  with  the  Esquimo  spear 
and  kayak.  He  will  appear  often  in  our  story, 
and  act  a  conspicuous  part ;  he  at  once,  however, 
prepossesses  us  in  his  favor  by  stipulating  with 
Dr.  Kane  to  leave  two  barrels  of  bread  and  fifty 
pounds  of  pork  with  his  mother  in  addition  to  the 
wages  he  is  to  receive.  The  doctor  made  his  cup 
of  joy  overflow  by  adding  to  these  gifts  to  his 
mother  the  present  for  himself  of  a  rifle  and  new 
kayak. 

The  expedition  next  touched  at  Lichtenfels. 
Dr,  Kane  obtained  here  a  valuable  addition  to  his 
outfit  of  fur  clothing.  Stopping  at  Proven,  a  sup 
ply  of  Esquimo  dogs  was  completed;  lying  to 
briefly  at  Upernavik,  the  most  northern  port  of 
civilization,  their  equipment  in  furs,  ice-tools,  and 


Notthward.  1 1 

other  necessary  articles  known  to  arctic  voyagers, 
was  rendered  still  more  complete.  At  this  last 
port  the  services  of  Carl  Petersen  were  engaged 
for  the  expedition.  We  have  met  this  intelligent, 
heroic  Dane  among  our  "Arctic  Heroes."  He 
will  for  a  long  time  appear  in  the  shifting  scenes 
of  our  story. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  July  the  "  Advance  " 
drew  near  to  Melville  Bay.  The  reader  who  has 
accompanied  the  earlier  arctic  explorers  into  this 
region  will  remember  their  terrific  experience  in 
this  bay.  Every  arctic  enemy  of  the  navigator 
lurks  there.  Their  attacks  are  made  singly  and  in 
solid  combinations.  At  one  time  they  steal  upon 
their  victim  like  a  Bengal  tiger;  at  other  times 
they  rush  upon  him  with  a  shout  and  yell,  like  a 
band  of  our  own  savages.  Giant  icebergs;  fierce 
storms;  cruel  nips;  silent,  unseen,  irresistible  cur 
rents;  with  ever-changing,  treacherous  "packs" 
and  "  floes,"  and  the  all-pervading,  relentless  cold, 
are  some  of  these  enemies.  A  favorite  movement 
of  these  forces  is  to  so  adjust  themselves  as  to 
promise  the  advancing  explorer  or  whaler  a  speedy 
and  complete  success;  then,  suddenly  changing 
front,  to  crush  and  sink  him  at  once,  or  to  bind 
him  in  icy  fetters,  a  helpless,  writhing  victim,  for 
days,  weeks,  or  months,  and  finally,  perhaps,  to 
bury  both  ship  and  men  in  the  dark,  deep  waters 
of  the  bay. 

The  "Advance"  was;  at  this  time  treated  by 
these  guardians  of  the  approach  to  the  North  Pole 
with  exceptional  courtesy.  We  suspect  that  they 


12  XORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

secretly  purposed  to  follow  them  into  more  north 
ern  regions,  and  there  to  attack  them  at  even  great 
er  advantage.  This  they  certainly  did. 

But  just  to  show  them  what  it  could  and  was 
minded  to  do,  the  evil  spirit  of  the  bay  invited 
them  at  one  time  to  escape  impending  danger  by 
fastening  to  a  huge  berg.  This  they  did,  after 
eight  hours  of  warping,  heaving,  and  planting  ice- 
anchors,  a  labor  of  prostrating  exhaustion.  Hard 
ly  had  they  begun  to  enjoy  the  invited  hospitality 
of  the  berg,  when  it  began  to  shower  upon  them, 
like  big  drops  from  a  summer  cloud,  pieces  of  ice 
the  size  of  a  walnut,  accompanied  by  a  crackling, 
threatening  noise  from  above.  A  gale  from  out  of 
its  hiding-place  on  shore  came  sweeping  upon 
them  at  the  same  time,  driving  before  it  its  icy 
supporter.  Mischief  was  evidently  intended. 
The  "  Advance  "  retreated  from  the  berg  with  all 
possible  haste,  and  had  barely  gone  beyond  its 
reach  when  it  launched  after  it  its  whole  broadside, 
which  came  crashing  into  the  water  with  a  roar 
like  a  whole  park  of  artillery.  Could  any  thing 
be  rougher  ?  But  then  it  was  true  to  its  icebergy 
character. 

The  "  Advance  "  was  not  injured,  but  the  ice 
held  as  a  trophy  more  than  two  thousand  feet 
of  good  whale  line,  which  had  to  be  cut  in  the 
retreat. 

These  bergs,  though  thus  harsh  and  treacherous 
as  a  rule,  can  do  a  generous  thing.  May  be,  like 
some  people,  they  are  all  the  more  dangerous  on 
account  of  exceptional  generosity.  The  loose  ice, 


Northward,  1 3 

soon  after  this  incident,  was  drifting  south,  and 
would  have  borne  the  navigators  with  it  back  from 
whence  they  had  come,  perhaps  for  hundreds  of 
miles.  But  a  majestic  berg  came  along  whose 
sunken  base  took  hold  of  the  deep  water  current, 
and  so.  impelled  by  this  current,  it  sailed  grandly 
northward,  sweeping  a  wide  path  through  the  rot 
ten  floes.  It  condescendingly  offered  to  do  tug 
boat  service  for  the  "Advance,"  and  invited  its 
captain  to  throw  aboard  an  ice-anchor.  We  won 
der  he  dared  to  trust  it,  but  he  did,  and,  grappling 
its  crystal  sides,  made  good  headway  for  awhile 
until  other  means  of  favorable  voyaging  were  pre 
sented. 

Soon  after  the  explorers  parted  from  this  bergy 
friend  the  midnight  sun  came  out  over  its  north 
ern  crest,  kindling  on  every  part  of  its  surface  fires 
of  varied  colors,  and  scattering  over  the  ice  all 
around  blazing  carbuncles,  sparkling  rubies,  and 
molten  gold. 

August  fifth  the  "Advance,"  fairly  clearing  the 
hated  Melville  Bay,  sailed  along  the  western  coast 
of  the  "  North  Water  "  of  Baffin  Bay.  At  North 
umberland  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  Whale  Sound, 
their  eyes  were  again  delighted  by  an  exhibition 
of  beautiful  colors,  delicately  tinted,  but  this  time 
not  made  by  a  gorgeous  sunrise  over  a  gigantic 
iceberg.  The  snow  of  the  island  and  its  vicinity 
bore,  over  vast  areas,  a  reddish  hue,  and  great 
patches  of  beautiful  green  mosses  broke  its  monot 
ony,  while  here  and  there  the  protruding  sandstone 
threw  in  a  rich  shading  of  brown.  So  God  paints 


14  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

the  dreariest  lands  in  colors  of  great  beauty,  and 
scatters  over  them  profusely  at  times  the  richest 
sunlit  gems. 

On  the  sixth  of  August  they  passed  the  frowning 
headland  of  Smith's  Sound,  known  as  Cape  Alex 
ander.  It'stands  like  the  charred  trunk  and  limbs 
of  some  mighty  oak,  at  the  entrance  of  an  unex 
plored,  gloomy  forest,  seen  in  the  murky  dark 
ness.  Cape  Alexander  seemed  a  mighty  sentinel 
of  evil  purpose,  toward  all  who  dared  pass  to  the 
mysterious  regions  beyond.  It  inspired  the  sailors 
with  superstitious  fear,  and  admonished  their  offi 
cers  that  eternal  vigilance  must  be  the  price  of 
safety  in  the  waters  beyond. 

Arriving  at  Littleton  Island,  our  explorers  built 
a  monument  of  stones  as  a  conspicuous  object  from 
the  sea,  surmounted  by  the  stripes  and  stars,  put 
under  it  a  record  of  their  voyage  thus  far,  and,  two 
miles  north  and  east,  upon  the  mainland,  deposited 
a  metallic  life-boat,  with  provisions  and  various 
stores.  These  were  for  a  resort  in  case  of  acci 
dent  in  their  further  progress. 

While  making  this  deposit  they  discovered  the 
remains  of  Esquimo  huts,  and  graves  of  some  of 
their  former  occupants.  The  dead  had  been  bur 
ied  in  a  sitting  posture,  their  knees  drawn  close  to 
their  bodies;  the  few  simple  implements  belonging 
to  the  deceased  were  buried  with  them.  In  one 
grave  was  a  child's  toy  spear.  So  even  the  rude 
Esquimo  child  has  its  toys,  and,  no  doubt,  the 
mother  looks  upon  its  trinkets,  as  she  lays  them  be 
side  its  dead  body,  with  tearful  interest. 


Northward.  1 5 

Soon  after  making  these  deposits  in  the  life-boat, 
the  "Advance,"  while  making  a  vigorous  struggle 
with  the  broken  ice,  was  borne  into  a  land-locked 
inlet,  which  Dr.  Kane  called  Refuge  Harbor.  It 
was  rather  a  cosy  place  for  an  arctic  shore,  and  in 
it  the  explorers  waited  for  the  movement  of  the 
ice. 

While  here  they  were  much  annoyed  by  their 
dogs,  fifty  in  number.  Two  bears  had  been  shot, 
which  were  the  only  game  which  had  been  taken 
for  them.  They  were  now  on  short  allowance,  and 
were  as  ravenous  as  wolves.  They  gulped  down  al 
most  any  thing  which  could  go  down  their  throats, 
even  devouring  at  one  time  a  part  of  a  feather-bed. 
Dr.  Kane's  specimens  of  natural  history  fared  hard 
at  their  jaws.  He  happened  once  to  set  down  in 
their  way  two  nests  of  large  sea-fowl.  They  were 
filled  with  feathers,  filth,  moss  and  pebbles — a  full 
peck,  but  the  dogs  made  a  rush  for  them  and  gob 
bled  down  the  whole.  There  were  plenty  of 
wolves  not  far  from  the  brig,  on  which  they  delight 
ed  to  feed.  But  the  hunters  had  no  luck  in  trying 
to  take  them.  Rifle  balls  glanced  from  their  thick 
hides  as  if  they  had  been  peas  from  a  toy  gun. 
They  needed  the  Esquimo  harpoon  and  the  Es- 
quimo  skill.  But  fortunately  a  dead  narwhal,  or 
sea-unicorn,  was  found.  Under  its  soothing  influ 
ence,  when  fed  out  to  them,  the  dogs  became  more 
quiet. 

After  remaining  a  few  days  at  Refuge  Harbor, 
a  desperate  push  was  made  to  get  the  vessel  far 
ther  north  and  east.  For  twelve  days  they  man- 


1 6  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES.   . 

fully  battled  with  the  ice,  and  made  forty  miles. 
This  brought  them  to  the  bottom  of  a  broad  shal 
low  bay,  which  they  named  Force  Bay.  Here  they 
fastened  the  brig  to  a  shelving,  rocky  ledge  near 
the  shore. 


Anchored  at  Last.  17 


CHAPTER  II. 

ANCHORED   AT    LAST. 

ON  Wednesday,  August  seventeenth,  the  her 
alds  of  a  storm  from  the  South  reached  the 
brig.  They  made  their  announcement  by  hurling 
against  her  sides  some  heavy  floe-pieces.  Under 
standing  this  hint  of  what  was  coming,  the  explor 
ers  clung  to  their  rocky  breakwater  by  three 
heavy  hawsers.  Louder  and  louder  roared  the 
blast,  and  more  fiercely  crashed  the  ice  which  it 
hurled  against  the  ledge.  At  midnight  one  of  the 
cables,  the  smaller  of  the  three,  parted,  and  the 
storm  seemed  to  shout  its  triumph  at  this  success  as 
it  assailed  the  writhing  vessel  more  vigorously. 
But  the  ledge  broke  the  power  in  a  measure  of 
the  wind  and  ice,  and  was,  indeed,  a  godsend  to 
the  imperiled  men,  so  they  put  it  down  on  their 
chart  as  Godsend  Ledge. 

The  next  day  the  huge,  human-faced  walrus  came 
quite  near  the  brig  in  great  numbers,  shaking  their 
grim,  dripping  fronts.  The  dovekies,  more  cheer 
ful  visitors,  scud  past  toward  the  land.  Both  wal 
rus  and  fowls  proclaimed  in  their  way  the  terrible- 
ness  of  the  increasing  tempest.  The  place  of  the 
broken  hawser  had  been  supplied,  and  the  worried 
craft  strained  away  at  three  strong  lines  which 
held  on  bravely.  Everything  on  board  was  stowed 


1 8  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

,away,  or  lashed  securely,  which  could  invite  an  as 
sault  by  the  wind. 

Saturday,  late  in  the  afternoon,  Dr.  Kane,  wet, 
and  weary  with  watching,  went  below  and  threw 
himself  for  rest  and  warmth  into  his  berth.  Scarce 
ly  had  he  done  this  before  a  sharp,  loud  twang 
brought  him  to  his  feet.  One  of  the  six-inch  haw 
sers  had  parted ;  its  sound  had  scarcely  been  lost 
in  the  uproar  before  a  sharp  and  shrill  "  twang ! 
twang!  "  announced  the  snapping  of  the  whale  line. 
The  brig  now  clung  to  the  ledge  by  a  single  cable 
— a  new  ten- inch  manilla  line,  which  held  on 
grandly.  The  mate  came  waddling  down  into  the 
cabin  as  the  doctor  was  drawing  on  his  last  article 
of  clothing  to  go  on  deck.  "  Captain  Kane,"  he 
exclaimed,  "  she  wont  hold  much  longer ;  it's  blow 
ing  the  devil  himself." 

All  hands  now  gathered  about  the  brave  manilla 
line  on  which  their  fate  seemed  to  depend.  Its 
deep  Eolian  chant  mingled  solemnly  with  the  rat 
tle  of  the  rigging  and  the  moaning  of  the  shrouds, 
and  died  away  in  the  tumult  of  the  conflicting 
wind  and  sea.  The  sailors  were  loud  in  its  praises 
as  they  watched  it  with  bated  breath.  It  was  sing 
ing  its  death  song,  for,  with  the  noise  of  a  shotted 
gun,  and  a  wreath  of  smoke,  it  gave  way,  and  out 
plunged  the  brig  into  the  rushing  current  of  the 
tempest-tossed  ice. 

Two  hours  of  hard  and  skillful  labor  were  be 
stowed  on  the  vessel  to  get  her  back  to  the  ledge ; 
first  by  beating,  or  trying  to  do  so,  up  into  the 
wind  ;  and  then  by  warping  along  the  edge  of  the 


Anchored  at  Last.  19 

solid  floe,  but  all  in  vain.  A  light  sail  was  then 
set,  that  they  might  keep  command  of  the  helm, 
and  away  they  scud  through  a  tortuous  lead  filled 
with  heavy,  broken  ice. 

At  seven  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  the  vessel 
was  heading,  under  full  way,  upon  huge  masses  of 
ice.  The  heaviest  anchor  was  thrown  out  to  stay 
her  speed.  But  the  ice-torrent  so  crowded  upon 
the  poor  craft  that  a  buoy  was  hastily  fastened  to 
the  chain,  and  it  was  slipped,  and  away  went  "  the 
best  bower,"  the  sailor's  trusted  friend  in  such  dan 
gers. 

The  vessel  now  went  banging  and  scraping 
against  the  floes,  one  of  which  was  forty  feet 
thick,  and  many  of  which  were  thirty  feet.  These 
collisions  smashed  in  her  bulwarks,  and  covered 
her  deck  with  icy  fragments.  Yet  the  plucky  lit 
tle  brig  returned  to  the  conflict  after  every  blow 
with  only  surface  wounds. 

These  assaults  failing  to  turn  back  or  to  de 
stroy  the  little  invading  stranger,  the  arctic  warri 
ors  now  brought  into  the  field  their  mightiest 
champions.  Not  far  ahead,  and  apparently  clos 
ing  the  lead,  was  a  whole  battalion  of  icebergs. 
It  was  an  unequal  fight,  and  down  upon  them, 
with  pnwilling  haste,  came  the  "Advance."  As 
it  approached  it  was  seen  that  a  narrow  line  of 
clear  water  ran  between  the  bergs  and  the  solid, 
high  wall  of  the  floe.  Into  this  the  vessel  shot, 
with  the  high  wind  directly  after  it.  The  sailors, 
caps  in  hand,  were  almost  ready  to  send  to  the 
baffled  enemy  a  shout  of  triumph,  when  the  wind 
2 


2O  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES.. 

died  away  into  a  lull,  which  amounted,  for  a  mo 
ment,  to  almost  a  dead  calm.  But  on  that  mo 
ment  the  fate  of  the  expedition  appeared  to  hang. 
The  enemy  saw  his  opportunity  and  began  to 
close  up.  There  seemed  no  possible  escape  for 
the  brig.  On  one  side  was  the  steep  ice-wall  of 
the  floe,  on  which  there  could  be  no  warping.  On 
the  other  were  the  slowly  but  steadily  advancing 
bergs  in  a  compact  line.  Just  in  time,  the  anx 
ious,  waiting,  and  almost  breathless  crew,  hailed 
their  deliverer.  It  was  a  broad,  low,  platform- 
shaped  berg,  over  which  the  water  washed.  It 
came  sailing  swiftly  by,  and  into  it  they  planted  an 
ice-anchor  attached  to  a  tow  line.  Away  galloped 
their  crystal  racer,  outrunning  the  "  pale  horse  " 
which  followed  them !  So  narrow  became  the 
channel  between  the  bergs  and  floe  e'er  they 
reached  the  open  water  beyond,  that  the  yards 
had  to  be  "  squared  "  to  prevent  them  from  being 
carried  away,  and  the  boats  suspended  over  the 
sides  were  taken  on  deck  to  prevent  them  from  be 
ing  crushed.  They  came  round  under  the  lee  of  a 
great  berg,  making  the  enemy  of  a  moment  ago 
their  protector  now.  Dr.  Kane  says:  "  Never  did 
heart-tried  men  acknowledge  with  greater  grati 
tude  their  merciful  deliverance  from  a  wretched 
death." 

But  the  fight  was  not  over.  A  sudden  flaw 
puffed  the  "Advance"  from  its  hiding-place,  and 
drove  it  again  into  the  drifting  ice  along  the  edge 
of  the  solid  floe.  Once  she  was  lifted  high  in  the 
air  on  the  crest  of  a  great  wave,  and,  as  it  slipped 


.     Anchored  at  Last.  21 

from  under  her,  she  came  down  with  tremendous 
force  against  the  floe.  The  masts  quivered  like, 
reeds  in  the  wind,  and  the  poor  craft  groaned  like 
a  struck  bullock. 

At  last  they  reached  a  little  pond  of  water  near 
the  shore.  They  had  drifted  since  morning  across 
Force  Bay,  ten  miles.  A  berg,  with  pretended 
friendliness,  came  and  anchored  between  the  brig 
and  the  storm.  The  situation  seemed  to  warrant 
a  little  rest,  and  the  men  went  below  and  threw 
themselves  into  their  bunks.  Dr.  Kane  was  yet 
on  deck,  distrusting  the  treacherous  ice.  Scarcely 
had  the  men  begun  to  sleep  before  the  vessel  re 
ceived  a  thump  and  a  jerk  upward.  All  hands 
were  instantly  on  deck.  Great  ice-tables,  twenty 
feet  thick,  crowding  forward  from  the  shore  side 
with  a  force  as  from  a  sliding  mountain,  pressed 
the  vessel  against  the  shore  front  of  the  berg ;  had 
this  been  a  perpendicular  wall,  no  wood  and  iron 
wrought  into  a  vessel  could  have  prevented  a  gen 
eral  crash.  But  the  unseen  Hand  was  apparent 
again.  The  berg  was  sloping,  and  up  its  inclined 
plane  the  vessel  went,  in  successive  jerks.  The 
men  leaped  upon  the  ice  to  await  the  result. 
Personal  effects,  such  as  could  be  carried  and  were 
deemed  indispensable,  were  in  readiness  in  the 
cabin  for  leave-taking.  Sledge  equipments  and 
camping  conveniences  were  put  in  order  and 
placed  at  hand.  The  explorers  had  experienced 
a  midnight  assault,  and  were  ready  for  the  flight. 
But  Dr.  Kane  bears  warm  testimony  concerning 
the  coolness  and  self-possession  of  every  man. 


22  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

While  awaiting  the  fate  of  the  vessel,  on  which 
hung  their  own  fate  also,  not  a  sound  was  heard 
save  the  roaring  of  the  wind,  the  crashing  ice,  and 
the  groaning  of  the  vessel's  timbers,  as  she  re 
ceived  shock  after  shock,  and  mounted  steadily  up 
the  ice-mountain.  Having  attained  a  cradle  high 
and  dry  above  the  sea,  the  brig  rested  there  sev 
eral  hours.  Finally  she  quietly  settled  down  into 
her  old  position  among  the  ice  rubbish  of  the 
sea. 

When  the  escape  was  apparent,  there  was  for  a 
moment  a  deep-breathing  silence  among  the  men, 
before  the  rapturous  outburst  of  joyful  congratu 
lation. 

While  this  last  thrilling  incident  had  been  tran 
spiring,  four  of  the  men  were  missing.  They  had 
gone  upon  the  ice  some  hours  before  to  carry  out 
a  warp,  and  had  been  carried  away  on  an  ice- 
raft.  When  the  morning  came,  and  the  vessel 
grounded  in  a  safe  place,  a  rescue  party  was  sent 
out,  who  soon  returned  with  them.  A  little  rest 
was  now  obtained  by  all. 


Thrilling  Incidents.  23 


CHAPTER  III. 

THRILLING     INCIDENTS. 

AFTER  a  brief  rest  our  explorers  continued 
their  voyage.  They  warped  the  vessel  round 
the  cape  near  which  they  found  shelter,  into  a  bay 
which  opened  to  the  north  and  west.  Along  the 
shore  of  this  bay  they  toiled  for  several  days  and 
reached  its  head.  It  seemed  impossible  to  go  far 
ther,  for  the  ice  was  already  thick  and  the  winter 
at  hand.  A  majority  of  the  officers,  in  view  of 
these  facts,  advised  a  return  south.  But  Dr.  Kane 
thought  they  might  winter  where  they  were,  or 
further  north  if  the  vessel  could  be  pushed  through 
the  ice,  and  their  explorations  be  made  with  dog- 
sledges.  To  learn  more  fully  the  practicability  of 
his  view  he  planned  a  boat  excursion.  While  this 
was  in  contemplation  an  incident  came  near  end 
ing  all  further  progress  of  the  expedition.  The 
brig  grounded  in  the  night,  and  was  left  suddenly 
by  the  receding  tide  on  her  beam  ends.  The 
stove  in  the  cabin,  which  was  full  of  burning  coal, 
upset  and  put  the  cabin  in  a  blaze.  It  was  choked 
by  a  pilot-cloth  overcoat  until  water  could  be 
brought.  No  other  harm  was  done  than  the  loss 
of  the  coat  and  a  big  scare. 

About  the  first  of  September  the  doctor  and  seven 
volunteers   started  in  the  boat   "  Forlorn   Hope " 


24  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

to  see  the  more  northern  shore-line..  The  boat 
was  abandoned  at  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours, 
all  the  water  having  turned  to  ice,  and  the  party 
tramped  many  a  weary  mile,  carrying  their  food 
and  a  few  other  necessary  things.  Dr.  Kane  at 
tained  an  elevation  of  eleven  hundred  feet,  from 
which;  with  his  telescope,  he  looked  north  beyond 
the  eightieth  degree  of  latitude,  and  through  a 
wide  extent  of  country  east  and  west.  From  this 
observation  he  decided  that  sledging  with  dogs 
into  and  beyond  this  region  was  practicable. 
This  had  seemed  doubtful  before.  He  therefore 
returned  with  the  decision  to  put  the  "  Advance  " 
into  winter-quarters  immediately. 

A  few  facts  interesting  to  the  scientific  were 
learned  on  this  excursion.  A  skeleton  of  a  musk 
ox  was  found,  showing  they  had  been,  at  no  dis 
tant  time,  visitors  to  this  coast.  Additions  were 
made  to  their  flowering  plants,  and  up  to  this  date 
twenty-two  varieties  had  been  found. 

The  brig  was  now  drawn  in  between  two  islands, 
and  the  mooring  lines  carried  out.  The  explorers 
were  in  a  sheltered,  and,  as  to  the  ice,  safe  winter 
home.  They  called  it  Rensselaer  Harbor.  Near 
them  an  iceburg  had  anchored  as  if  to  watch  their 
movements.  A  fresh-water  pond  on  the  upland 
promised  them  its  precious  treasure  if  they  would 
cut  for  it.  An  island  a  few  rods  distant  they 
named  Butler  Island,  and  on  this  they  built  a  store 
house.  A  canal  was  cut  from  the  brig  to  this  isl 
and,  and  kept  open  by  renewed  cutting  every 
morning.  They  then  run  the  boat  through  this 


Thrilling  Incidents.  25 

canal,  thus  transferring  the  stores  from  the  hold  to 
the  store-house. 

While  one  party  was  thus  engaged,  others  were 
equally  busy  in  other  directions.  The  scientific 
corps  selected  a  small  island  which  they  called 
Fern  Rock,  and  put  up  a  rude  "  observatory,"  from 
which  not  only  the  stars  were  to  be  watched,  but 
the  weather,  the  meteors,  and  the  electrical  cur 
rents  were  to  be  noted. 

While  this  outside  work  was  going  on  Dr.  Kane 
was  taxing  his  ingenuity  to  arrange  the  brig,  now 
made  roomy  by  the  removal  of  the  stores,  so  as  to 
have  it  combine  the  greatest  convenience,  warmth, 
and  healthfulness.  A  roof  was  put  over  the  upper 
deck,  which  was  then  made  to  answer  for  a  prom 
enade  deck  for  pleasure  and  health. 

Even  the  wolfish  Esquimo  dogs  were  remem 
bered  in  this  general  planning.  A  nice  dog  house, 
cozy  and  near,  was  made  for  them  on  Butler  Isl 
and.  But  the  dogs  had  notions  of  their  own 
about  their  quarters.  Though  so  savage  at  all 
'times  as  to  be  willing  to  eat  their  masters  if  not 
kept  in  abject  fear,  yet  they  refused  to  sleep  out 
of  the  sound  of  their  voices.  They  would  leave 
their  comfortable  quarters  on  the  island  and  hud 
dle  together  in  the  snow,  exposed  to  the  severest 
cold,  to  be  within  the  sound  of  human  voices.  So 
they  had  to  be  indulged  with  kennels  on  deck. 

While  these  matters  were  being  attended  to  the 
hunters  scoured  the  country  to  learn  what  the 
prospect  was  for  game.  They  extended  their 
excursions  ninety  miles,  and  returned  with  a 


26  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

report  not  very  encouraging.  They  saw  a  few  rein 
deer,  and  numerous  hares  and  rabbits.  It  was 
plain  that  hunting  would  not  make  large  returns. 

The  winter  came  on  with  its  shroud  of  darkness. 
On  the  tenth  of  September  the  sun  made  but  a 
short  circuit  above  the  horizon  before  it  disap 
peared  again.  In  one  month  it  would  cease  to 
show  its  disk  above  the  surrounding  hills;  then 
would  come  a  midday  twilight  for  a  few  days,  fol 
lowed  by  nearly  a  hundred  days  of  darkness  in 
which  no  man  could  work.  Even  now,  at  noon, 
the  stars  glowed  brightly  in  the  heavens,  though 
but  few  of  them  were  the  familiar  stars  of  the 
home  sky. 

While  the  work  of  which  we  have  spoken  was 
going  on  Dr.  Kane's  thoughts  were  much  upon  the 
necessity  of  establishing,  before  the  winter  nights 
fully  set  in,  provision  depots  at  given  distances 
northward  for  at  least  sixty  miles.  These  would 
be  necessary  for  a  good  start  in  the  early  spring 
of  a  dog-sledge  journey  North  Poleward.  For  the 
spring  work  the  Newfoundland  dogs,  of  which  he 
had  ten,  were  in  daily  training.  Harnessed  to  a 
small,  strong,  beautifully  made  sledge  called  "  Lit 
tle  Willie,"  the  doctor  drove  his  team  around  the 
brig  in  gallant  style.  These  Newfoundlanders 
were  a  dependence  for  heavy  draught.  The  Es- 
quimo  dogs  were  in  reserve  for  the  long,  peril 
ous  raids  of  the  earnest  exploration  into  darkness 
and  over  hummocks. 

While  all  this  busy  preparation  was  going  on 
the  morning  and  evening  prayers  were  strictly 


Thrilling  Incidents.  27 

maintained,  bringing  with  them  a  soothing  assur 
ance  of  the  Divine  care. 

On  the  twentieth  of  September  the  provision  de 
posit  party  started  on  an  experimental  journey.  It 
consisted  of  seven  men  in  all,  M'Gary  and  Bonsall 
officers.  They  carried  about  fourteen  hundred 
pounds  of  mixed  stores  for  the  "  cairns."  They 
took  these  stores  upon  the  strong,  thorough-built 
sledge  "  Faith,"  and  drew  it  themselves,  by  a  har 
ness  for  each  man,  consisting  of  a  "  rue-raddy,"  or 
shoulder-belt,  and  track-line.  The  men  then  gen 
erously  did  a  service  they  would  in  future  have 
the  dogs  do. 

While  this  party  was  gone  the  home  work  went 
on,  enlivened  by  several  incidents  involving  the 
most  appalling  dangers,  yet  not  without  some 
comic  elements. 

The  first  was  occasioned  by  rats.  What  right 
these  creatures  had  in  the  expedition  is  not  appar 
ent ;  nor  do  we  see  what  motive  impelled  them  to 
come  at  all.  If  it  was  a  mere  love  of  adventure, 
they,  as  do  most  adventurers,  found  that  the  results 
hardly  paid  the  cost.  They  were  voted  a  nuisance, 
but  how  to  abate  it  was  a  difficult  question.  The 
first  experiment  consisted  of  a  removal  of  the  men 
to  a  camp  on  deck  for  a  night,  and  a  fumigation 
below,  where  the  rats  remained,  of  a  vile  compound 
of  brimstone,  burnt  leather,  and  arsenic.  But  the 
rats  survived  it  bravely. 

The  next  experiment  was  with  carbonic  acid 
gas.  This  proved  a  weapon  dangerous  to  han 
dle.  Dr.  Hays  burnt  a  quantity  of  charcoal,  and 


28  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

the  hatches  were  shut  down  after  starting  three 
stoves. 

The  gas  generated  below  rapidly,  and  nobody 
was  expected,  of  course,  to  go  where  it  was.  But 
the  French  cook,  Pierre  Schubert,  thinking  his 
soup  needed  seasoning,  stole  into  the  cook  room. 
He  was  discerned  by  Morton,  staggering  in  the 
dark  ;  and,  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  he  sprung  to 
his  relief,  and  both  reached  the  deck  bewildered, 
the  cook  entirely  insensible. 

Soon  after  this  Dr.  Kane  thought  he  smelt  a 
strange  odor.  The  hatches  were  removed  and  he 
went  below.  After  a  short  tour  between  decks,  he 
was  passing  the  door  which  led  to  the  carpenter's 
room,  and  he  was  amazed  to  see  three  feet  of  the 
deck  near  it  a  glowing  fire.  Beating  a  hasty  re 
treat,  he  fell  senseless  to  the  floor  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  which  led  to  the  upper  deck.  The  situa 
tion  was  critical.  A  puff  of  air  might  envelope  the 
hold  in  flames,  with  the  doctor  an  easy  victim; 
but  the  divine  Hand  still  covered  him.  Mr. 
Brooks,  reaching  down,  drew  him  out.  Coming  to 
the  air  the  doctor  recovered  immediately  and 
communicated  his  startling  discovery  quietly  to 
those  only  near  him.  Water  was  passed  up  from 
the  "  fire-hole  "  along  side,  kept  open  for  just  such 
emergencies.  Dr.  Kane  and  Ohlsen  went  below, 
water  was  dashed  on,  and  they  were  safe. 

The  dead  bodies  of  twenty-eight  rats  were  the 
net  result  of  this  onslaught  with  carbonic  acid  gas. 
But  they  were  but  few  among  so  many.  The  rat 
army  was  yet  in  fighting  order. 


Thilling  Incidents.  29 

The  other  incident  was  less  serious,  yet  quite  on 
the  verge  of  fatal  consequences.  Several  Esqui- 
mo  dogs  became  the  mothers  of  nice  little  fam 
ilies.  Now  these  young  folks  in  the  kennels  were 
considered  intruders  by  the  master  of  the  vessel — 
rather  hard  on  them  since  they  were  not  to  blame 
in  the  matter.  But  it  happens  with  dogs  as  with 
the  human  race,  that  they  sometimes  suffer  with 
out  fault  of  their  own.  Six  puppies  were  thrown 
overboard  ;  two  died  for  the  good  their  skins  might 
do  as  mittens ;  and,  alas !  seven  died  more  dread 
ful  deaths — they  were  eaten  by  their  mammas  ! 
Whether  these  puppy  calamities  bore  heavily  upon 
the  brains  of  the  dog  mothers  or  not  we  cannot  tell, 
but  the  fact  recorded  is  that  one  of  them  went 
distracted.  She  walked  up  and  down  the  deck 
with  a  drooping  head  and  staggering  gait.  Finally 
she  snapped  at  Petersen,  foamed  at  the  mouth, 
and  fell  at  his  feet.  "  She  is  mad !  "  exclaimed 
Petersen.  "  Hydrophobia  !  "  was  the  dreadful  cry 
which  passed  about  the  deck.  Dr.  Kane  ran  for 
his  gun.  He  was  not  a  moment  too  soon  in  reap 
pearing  with  it.  The  dog  had  recommenced  her 
running  and  snapping  at  those  near.  The  New 
foundland  dogs  were  not  out  of  her  reach,  and  the 
hatches  leading  below  were  open.  But  a  well-di 
rected  shot  ended  at  once  her  life  and  the  danger. 

It  was  now  the  tenth  of  October.  The  sun, 
though  just  appearing  above  the  horizon  to  the  sur 
rounding  country,  only  sparkled  along  the  edge  of 
the  hill-tops  to  the  gazers  from  the  "  Advance." 
The  depot  party  had  been  gone  twenty  days,  and 


3O  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Dr.  Kane  was  beginning  to  feel  anxious  about 
them.  He  harnessed  four  of  his  best  Newfound 
landers  into  the  "  Little  Willie,"  and,  accompanied 
by  John  Blake,  started  in  search  of  them. 

For  a  little  time  the  party  progressed  very  well. 
But  after  awhile  the  new  ice  between  the  broken 
floes  was  found  thin.  The  seams  thus  frozen  had 
to  be  leaped.  Sometimes  they  were  wide,  and  the 
dogs  in  their  attempts  to.  spring  across  broke  in. 
Three  times  in  less  than  as  many  hours  one  had 
received  an  arctic  bath.  The  men  trotted  along 
side,  leaping,  walking,  running,  and  shouting  to 
the  dogs.  Extended  and  exhausting  diversions 
were  made  to  avoid  impassable  chasms  or  too 
steep  hummocks.  Thus  four  days  had  passed  in 
a  fruitless  search  for  the  missing  ones. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day,  about  two  hours 
before  the  transient  sun  showed  his  glowing  disk, 
Dr.  Kane  climbed  an  iceberg  to  get  a  sight  of  the 
road  ahead.  In  the  dim  distance  on  the  snow  a 
black  spot  was  seen.  Is  it  a  bear?  No,  it  now 
stretches  out  into  a  dark  line.  It  is  the  sledge 
party !  They  see  their  leader's  tent  by  the  edge 
of  a  thinly-frozen  lead  ;  into  this  they  launch  their 
boat  and  come  on,  singing  as  they  come.  The  doc 
tor,  in  breathless  suspense,  waits  until  they  draw 
near,  and  counts  them :  one,  two,  three,  four,  five, 
six,  seven  !  They  are  all  safe  !  Three  cheers  go 
up  from  both  parties,  followed  by  hearty  hand 
shaking  and  congratulations.  The  depot  enter 
prise  was  a  success. 


Lost  and  Rescued.  3 1 


CHAPTER    IV. 

LOST     AND     RESCUED. 

THE  sun  had  disappeared,  but  the  moon  com 
pleted  her  circuit  in  the  heavens  with  great 
beauty.  Her  nearest  approach  to  the  horizon  was 
twenty-five  degrees.  For  eight  days  after  the  re 
turn  of  the  party  to  the  vessel  it  shone  with  almost 
unclouded  brightness,  as  if  to  give  them  a  joyful 
welcome. 

When  November  came  our  explorers  were  well 
settled  in  their  winter-quarters.  They  had  made 
them  by  judicious  ventilation  and  a  careful  distri 
bution  of  heat  tolerably  comfortable.  Below  decks 
they  had  a  uniform  temperature  of  sixty-five  de 
grees  above  zero,  and  under  the  housing  of  the 
upper  deck  it  never  went  below  zero,  while  out 
side  the  thermometer  averaged  twenty-five  degrees 
minus. 

While  shut  up  in  the  darkness,  relieved  only  by 
the  light  from  the  sparkling  stars  and  the  glowing 
moon,  the  daily  routine  of  the  ship's  duties  were 
strictly  performed.  Each  had  his  assigned  work. 
The  monotonous  meals  came  at  the  stated  hour, 
and  the  bell  noted  the  changing  watches.  The 
morning  and  evening  prayers,  and  the  religious 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  were  pleasant  and 
profitable  prompters  to  serious  thought.  These 


32  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

became  more  and  more  needed  as  the  inactive  sea 
son  progressed.  The  continued  darkness  without, 
made  dense  often  by  heavy  clouds,  wore  upon 
the  spirits  of  the  men  ;  besides,  their  light  within 
became  less  cheerful  by  the  failure  of  the  supply 
of  oil.  The  lamps  refused  to  burn  poor  lard,  and 
muddy  corks  and  wads  of  cotton  floating  as  tapers 
in  saucers  filled  with  it  gave  but  a  lurid  light  and 
emitted  an  offensive  smoke  and  odor.  It  would 
be  strange,  indeed,  if  in  this  ice-imprisoned  com 
pany  there  were  no  homesick  ones,  however  brave 
ly  the  feeling  might  be  suppressed.  Hans,  the 
Esquimo,  at  one  time  packed  his  clothes  and 
shouldered  his  rifle  to  bid  the  brig's  company 
good-bye.  A  desperate,  lone  journey  homeward 
he  would  have  had  of  it !  It  was  whispered  that 
in  addition  to  his  drawings  to  his  mother  there 
was  at  Fiskernes  a  lady-love.  He,  however,  was 
persuaded  to  stay  on  shipboard,  and  Dr.  Kane 
gave  him  for  his  sickness  a  dose  of  salts  and  pro 
motion.  They  worked  well,  and  he  seems  to  have 
been  very  contented  afterward. 

The  usual  resort  was  had  to  dramatic  perform 
ances,  fancy  balls,  and  the  publication  of  a  paper 
called  the  "  Ice-blink."  A  favorite  sport  was  the 
"  fox-chase,"  in  which  each  sailor  in  turn  led  off 
as  fox  in  a  run  round  the  upper  deck,  followed  by 
the  rest  in  chase.  Dr.  Kane  offered  a  Guernsey 
shirt  as  a  prize  to  the  man  who  held  out  the  long 
est  in  the  chase.  William  Godfrey  sustained  the 
chase  for  fourteen  minutes,  and  wore  off  the  shirt. 

November  twenty-seventh  the  commander  sent 


Lost  and  Rescued.  33 

out  a  volunteer  party  under  Bonsall  to  see  if  the 
Esquimo  had  returned  to  the  huts  which  had 
been  seen  in  the  fall.  The  darkness  at  noon 
day  was  too  great  for  reading,  and  the  cold  was 
terrible.  The  party  returned  after  one  night's 
encamping,  the  sledge  having  broken,  and  the 
tent  and  luggage  being  left  behind.  A  few  days 
after  Morton  started  alone  to  recover  the  lost  ar 
ticles.  In  two  days  and  a  half  he  returned  bring 
ing  every  thing.  He  tramped  in  that  time,  with  the 
cold  forty  degrees  below  zero,  sixty-two  miles, 
making  only  three  halts.  The  darkness  during 
the  time  was  such  that  a  hummock  of  ice  fifty 
paces  ahead  could  hardly  be  seen. 

The  effect  of  the  darkness  on  the  dogs  was  very 
marked,  but  so  long  as  there  was  any  sledging  for 
them  to  do  their  spirits  kept  up.  One  of  the 
Newfoundlands,  named  Grim,  was  a  character.  He 
was  noted  for  a  profound  appreciation  of  his  din 
ner,  of  which  he  never  had  enough,  for  a  disrelish 
for  work,  and  a  remarkable  knowledge  of  the  arts 
of  hypocrisy.  His  cunning  fawning,  and  the  be 
seeching  wink  of  his  eye,  procured  for  him  warm 
quarters  in  the  deck-house,  and  a  bed  on  the  cap 
tain's  fur  coat,  while  his  fellows  had  to  be  content 
with  their  kennel.  Though  Grim  thus  proved  his 
knowledge  of  the  best  place  at  the  dog-.table,  and 
the  best  bits  it  afforded,  as  well  as  the  best  place 
to  sleep,  he  never  could  understand  a  call  to  the 
sledge-harness.  He  always  happened  at  such 
times  to  be  out  of  the  way.  Once,  when  the  dog- 
team  was  about  to  start,  he  was  found  hid  in  a 


34  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

barrel,  and  was  bid  join  the  party.  But  Grim  was 
equal  to  the  occasion.  He  went  limping  across 
the  deck,  as  much  as  to  say,  Would  you  have  a 
poor  lame  dog  go?  The  joke  was  so  cute  that  he 
was  allowed  to  remain  at  home,  and  after  that  he 
became  suddenly  lame  as  soon  as  a  movement  to 
ward  the  sledges  was  made.  Grim  thus  attained 
the  usual  success  of  shallow-brained,  flattering 
hypocrisy — many  favors  and  universal  contempt. 
His  end,  too,  was  very  befitting  his  life.  His  mas 
ter,  thinking  he  was  becoming  too  fat  in  his  lazy 
dignity,  commanded  him  to  join  a  sledge  party. 
Grown  presumptuous  by  indulgence,  he  refused, 
and  showed  his  teeth,  besides  pleading  lameness. 
But  the  order  was  peremptory  this  time,  and  a 
rope  was  put  round  his  body  and  attached  to  the 
sledge,  and  he  was  made  to  trot  after  his  faithful 
fellows.  At  the  first  halt  he  contrived  to  break 
the  rope,  and,  carrying  a  few  feet  of  it  dragging 
after  him,  started  in  the  darkness  for  the  ship. 
Not  having  come  home  when  the  party  returned, 
search  was  made  for  him  with  lanterns,  as  it  was 
thought  the  rope  might  have  caught  and  detained 
him  in  the  hummock.  His  tracks  were  found  not 
far  from  the  vessel,  and  then  they  led  away  to  the 
shore.  Old  Grim  was  never  seen  again. 

Grim  could  be  spared,  but  the  explorers  were 
much  alarmed  soon  after  his  death  by  a  strange 
disease  among  the  whole  pack.  They  were  at 
times  frenzied,  and  then  became  stupid.  They 
were  taken  below,  nursed,  tended,  and  doctored 
with  anxiety  and  care,  for  on  them  much  de- 


Lost  and  Rescued.  35 

pended.  But  all  died  except  six.  Their  death 
threw  a  cloud  over  the  prospect  of  further  success 
ful  exploration. 

But  a  still  darker  event  threatened  the  explor 
ers.  Every  man  was  more  or  less  touched  with 
the  scurvy,  except  two,  and  some  were  prostrate. 
It  was  with  great  joy,  therefore,  that,  on  the  twenty- 
first  of  January,  1854,  they  saw  the  orange-colored 
tints  of  the  sun  faintly  tracing  the  top  of  the  dis 
tant  hills.  Daylight  and  game  would  be  impor 
tant  medicines  for  the  sick.  A  month  later  and 
Dr.  Kane  made  a  long  walk,  and  a  hard  scramble 
up  a  projecting  crag  of  a  headland  of  the  bay,  and 
bathed  in  his  welcome  rays.  It  was  about  a  week 
later  before  he  was  seen  from  the  deck  of  the 
"Advance." 

A  very  busy  company  now  was  that  on  board 
the  brig,  making  preparations  for  spring  work. 
The  carpenter  was  making  and  mending  sledges ; 
the  tinker  making  and  mending  cooking  appa 
ratus  for  the  journeys;  many  busy  hands  were  at 
work  on  the  furs  and  blankets  for  a  complete 
renewed  outfit  for  wearing  and  sleeping.  But 
though  March  had  come,  the  average  cold  was 
greater  than  at  any  time  before.  Still  a  sledge 
party  was  in  readiness  to  start  by  the  middle  of 
the  month,  to  carry  provisions  for  a  new  deposit 
beyond  those  made  in  the  fall.  The  party  con 
sisted  of  eight  men.  A  new  sledge  had'  been 
made,  smaller  than  the  "  Faith,"  and  adapted  to  the 
reduced  dog-team.  To  this  the  load  was  lashed, 

a  light  boat  being  placed  on  top.     The  men  har- 
3 


36  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

nessed  in  but  could  hardly  start  it.  The  boat  was 
then  removed  and  two  hundred  pounds  of  the 
load,  and  thus  relieved  away  they  went,  cheered 
by  the  hearty  "  God  bless  you !  "  of  their  ship 
mates.  Dr.  Kane  had  added  to  their  provisions 
by  the  way,  as  an  expression  of  good-will,  the 
whole  of  his  brother's  "  great  wedding  cake." 

But  as  they  started  their  ever  watchful  com 
mander  thought  he  saw  more  good-will  than 
ability  to  draw  the  load,  and  a  suspicion,  too,  im 
pressed  him  that  the  new  sledge  was  not  all  right. 
So  he  followed,  and  found  them  in  camp  only  five 
miles  away.  He  said  nothing  about  any  new  or 
ders  for  the  morning,  laughed  at  the  rueful  faces 
of  some  of  them,  and  heard  Petersen's  defense  of 
his  new  sledge  as  the  best  which  could  be  made. 
He  saw  them  all  tucked  away  in  their  buffaloes, 
and  returned  to  the  brig.  We  have  before  re 
ferred  to  a  sledge  called  the  "  Faith."  It  was  built 
by  Dr.  Kane's  order,  after  an  English  pattern,  ex 
cept  that  the  runners  were  made  lower  and  wider. 
It  had  been  thought  too  large  for  the  present 
party.  The  doctor  now  called  up  all  his  remaining 
men.  The  "  Faith  "  was  put  on  deck,  her  runners 
polished,  lashings,  a  canvas  covering,  and  track- 
lines  were  adjusted  to  her.  By  one  o'clock  that 
night  the  discarded  two  hundred  pounds  of  pro 
visions  and  the  boat  were  lashed  on,  and  away 
the  men  went  for  their  sleeping  comrades.  They 
were  still  sound  asleep  when  the  "  Faith  "  arrived. 
The  load  of  the  new  boat  was  quietly  placed  upon 
it,  all  put  in  traveling  order,  and  it  was  started  off 


Lost  and  Rescued.  37 

on  an  experimental  trip  with  five  men.  The  suc 
cess  was  perfect.  The  sleepers  were  then  awak 
ened,  and  all  were  delighted  at  the  easier  draught 
of  the  heavier  load.  Dr.  Kane  and  his  party  re 
turned  to  the  vessel  with  the  discarded  sledge. 

Ten  days  slipped  away,  and  no  tidings  from  the 
depot  party.  The  work  of  clearing  up  the  ship, 
and  putting  the  finishing  touch  to  the  preparation 
for  the  distant  northern  excursion,  which  was  to 
crown  the  efforts  of  the  expedition,  and  unlock,  it 
was  hoped,  at  last,  some  of  the  secrets  of  the 
North  Pole,  progressed  daily.  At  midnight  of 
the  eleventh  day  a  sudden  tramp  was  heard  on 
deck,  and  immediately  Sontag,  Ohlsen,  and  Peter- 
sen  entered  the  cabin.  Their  sudden  coming  was 
not  so  startling  as  their  woe-begone,  bewildered 
looks.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  they  made  their 
sad  tale  known.  Brooks,  Baker,  Wilson,  and  Schu 
bert  were  all  lying  on  the  ice,  disabled,  with  Irish 
Tom  Hickey,  who  alone  was  able  to  minister  to 
their  wants.  The  escaped  party  had  come,  at  the 
peril  of  their  own  lives,  to  get  aid.  They  had 
evidently  come  a  long  distance,  but  how  far,  and 
where  they  had  left  the  suffering  ones,  they  could 
not  tell,  nor  were  they  in  a  condition  to  be  ques 
tioned. 

While  the  urgent  necessities  of  the  new  comers 
were  being  attended  to,  Dr.  Kane  and  others  were 
getting  ready  the  "Little  Willie,"  with  a  buffalo 
cover,  a  small  tent,  and  a  package  of  prepared 
meat  called  pemmican.  Ohlsen  seemed  to  have 
his  senses  more  than  the  others,  though  he  was 


38  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

sinking  with  exhaustion,  having  been  fifty  hours 
without  rest.  Dr.  Kane  feeling  that  he  must  have 
a  guide  or  fail  to  find  the  lost  ones,  Ohlsen  was 
put  in  a  fur  bag,  his  legs  wrapped  up  in  dog-skins 
and  eider  down,  and  then  he  was  strapped  on  the 
sledge. 

Off  dashed  the  rescue  party,  nine  men  besides 
their  commander,  carrying  only  the  clothes  on 
their  backs.  The  cold  was  seventy-eight  degrees 
below  the  freezing  point. 

Guided  by  icebergs  of  colossal  size,  they  hurried 
across  the  bay,  and  traveled  sixteen  hours  with 
some  certainty  that  they  were  on  the  right  track. 
They  then  began  to  lose  their  way.  Ohlsen,  ut 
terly  exhausted,  had  fallen  asleep,  and  when 
awakened  was  plainly  bewildered.  He  could  tell 
nothing  about  the  way,  nor  the  position  of  the  lost 
ones.  He  had  before  said  that  it  was  drifting 
heavily  round  them  when  they  were  left.  The 
situation  of  the  rescue  party  was  becoming  critical, 
and  the  chance  of  helping  the  lost  seemed  small 
indeed ;  they  might  be  anywhere  within  forty 
miles. 

Thus  situated  Dr.  Kane  moved  on  ahead,  and 
clambered  up  some  ice-piles  and  found  himself 
upon  a  long,  level  floe.  Thinking  the  provision 
party  might  have  been  attracted  by  this  as  a  place 
to  camp,  he  determined  to  examine  it  carefully. 
He  gave  orders  to  liberate  Ohlsen,  now  just  able  to 
walk,  from  his  fur  bag,  and  to  pitch  the  tent ;  then 
leaving  tent,  sledge,  and  every  thing  behind,  ex 
cept  a  small  allowance  of  food  taken  by  each  man, 


Lost  and  Rescued.  39 

he  commanded  the  men  to  proceed  across  the  floe 
at  a  good  distance  from  each  other.  All  obeyed 
cheerfully  and  promptly,  and  moved  off  at  a 
lively  step  to  keep  from  freezing;  yet  somehow, 
either  from  a  sense  of  loneliness,  or  involuntarily, 
there  was  a  constant  tendency  of  the  men  to  hud 
dle  together.  Exhaustion  and  cold  told  fearfully 
upon  them ;  the  stoutest  were  seized  with  trem 
bling  fits  and  short  breath,  and  Dr.  Kane  fell 
twice  fainting  on  the  snow.  They  had  now  been 
eighteen  hours  out  without  food  or  rest,  and  the 
darkness  of  their  situation  seemed  to  have  no  ray 
of  light,  when  Hans  shouted  that  he  thought  he 
saw  a  sledge  track.  Hardly  daring  to  believe  that 
their  senses  did  not  deceive  them,  they  traced  it 
until  footsteps  were  apparent ;  following  these 
with  religious  care  they  came  after  awhile  in  sight 
of  a  small  American  flag  fluttering  from  a  hum 
mock.  Lower  down  they  espied  a  little  Masonic 
banner  hanging  from  a  tent  pole  barely  above  the 
drift.  It  was  the  camp  of  the  lost  ones !  It  was 
found  after  an  unfaltering  march  of  twenty-one 
hours.  The  little  tent  was  nearly  covered  by  the 
drift. 

Dr.  Kane  was  the  last  to  come  up,  and  when  he 
reached  the  tent  his  men  were  standing  in  solemn 
silence  upon  each  sme  of  it.  With  great  kindness 
and  delicacy  of  feeling  they  intimated  their  wish 
that  he  should  be  the  first  to  go  in. 

He  lifted  the  canvas  and  crawled  in,  and  in  the 
darkness  felt  for  the  poor  fellows,  who  were 
stretched  upon  their  backs.  A  burst  of  welcome 


4<D  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

within  was  answered  by  a  joyful  shout  without. 
"  We  expected  you,"  said  one,  embracing  the 
doctor ;  "  we  knew  you  would  come !  "  For  the 
moment  all  perils,  hunger,  and  exhaustion  were 
forgotten  amid  the  congratulations  and  gratitude. 

The  company  now  numbered  fifteen,  the  cold 
was  intense,  but  one  half  the  number  had  to  keep 
stirring  outside  while  the  rest  crowded  into  the 
little  tent  to  sleep.  Each  took  a  turn  of  two  hours, 
and  then  preparations  were  made  to  start  home 
ward. 

They  took  the  tent,  furs  for  the  rescued  party, 
and  food  for  fifty  hours,  and  abandoned  every 
thing  else.  The  tent  was  folded  and  laid  on  the 
sledge,  a  bed  was  then  made  of  eight  buffalo  skins, 
the  sick,  having  their  limbs  carefully  sewed  up  in 
reindeer  skins,  were  then  put  in  a  reclining  posi 
tion  on  the  bed,  and  other  furs  and  blanket  bags 
thrown  around  them.  The  whole  was  lashed  to 
gether,  allowing  only  a  breathing  place  opposite 
the  mouth.  This  embalming  of  the  sufferers,  and 
getting  them  a  good  meal,  cost  four  hours  of  ex 
posure  in  a  cold  that  had  become  fifty-five  degrees 
minus.  Most  of  the  rescuers  had  their  fingers 
nipped  by  the  frost.  . 

When  all  was  ready  the  t^ole  company  united 
in  a  short  prayer. 

Now  commenced  the  fearful  journey.  The 
sledge  and  its  load  weighed  elev-en  hundred 
pounds.  The  hummocks  were  many ;  some  of 
them  were  high,  and  long  deviations  round  them 
must  be  made ;  some  which  they  climbed  over, 


Lost  and  Rescued.  41 

lifting  the  sledge  after  them,  were  crossed  by  nar 
row  chasms  filled  with  light  snow — fearful  traps 
into  which  if  one  fell  his  death  was  almost  certain. 
Across  these  the  sledge  was  drawn,  some  of  them 
being  too  wide  for  it  to  bridge  them,  so  it  had  to 
be  sustained  by  the  rope,  and  steadily  too,  for  the 
sick  could  not  bear  to  be  lashed  so  tight  as  not  to 
be  liable  to  roll  off,  and  the  load  was  top-heavy. 

In  spite  of  these  obstacles  all  went  bravely  for  six 
hours.  The  abandoned  tent  was  nine  miles  ahead, 
the  sledge  on  which  life  depended  bravely  bore 
every  strain,  the  new  floe  was  gained,  and  the 
traveling  improved,  so  that  good  hope  was  enter 
tained  that  the  tent,  its  covert  and  rest,  would  be 
gained.  Just  then  a  strange  feeling  came  over 
nearly  the  whole  party.  Some  begged  the  privi 
lege  of  sleeping.  They  were  not  cold,  they  said  ; 
they  did  not  mind  the  wind  now  ;  all  they  wanted 
was  a  little  sleep.  Others  dropped  on  the  snow 
and  refused  to  get  up.  One  stood  bolt  upright, 
and,  with  closed  eyes,  could  not  be  made  to  speak. 
The  commander  boxed,  jeered,  argued,  and  repri 
manded  his  men  to  no  purpose.  A  halt  was  made 
and  the  tent  pitched.  No  fire  could  be  obtained, 
for  nobody's  fingers  were  limber  enough  to  strike 
fire,  so  no  food  or  water  could  be  had. 

Leaving  the  company  in  charge  of  M'Gary, 
with  orders  to  come  on  after  four  hours'  rest,  Dr. 
Kane  and  Godfrey  went  forward  to  the  tent  to  get 
ready  a  fire  and  cooked  food.  They  reached  the 
tent  in  a  strange  sort  of  stupor.  They  remem 
bered  nothing  only  that  a  bear  trotted  leisurely 


42  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

ahead  of  them,  stopping  once  to  tear  a  jumper  to 
pieces  which  one  of  the  men  had  dropped  the  day 
before,  and  pausing  to  toss  the  tent  contemptuously 
aside.  They  set  it  up  with  difficulty,  crept  into 
their  fur  bags,  and  slept  intensely  for  three  hours. 
They  then  arose,  succeeded  in  lighting  the  cook 
ing  lamp,  and  had  a  steaming  soup  ready  when 
the  rest  arrived. 

Refreshed  with  food  and  rest,  the  feeble  re-ad 
justed,  they  commenced  the  home  stretch.  Once 
the  old  sleepiness  came  over  them,  and  they  in 
turn  slept  three  minutes  by  the  watch  and  were 
benefited.  They  all  reached  the  brig  at  one 
o'clock  P.  M.  All  were  more  or  less  delirious 
when  they  arrived,  and  could  remember  nothing 
of  what  had  happened  on  the  way,  with  slight  ex 
ception.  The  rescue  party  had  been  out  seventy- 
two  hours ;  of  this  time  only  eight  hours  were 
spent  in  halting.  They  had  traveled  about  eighty- 
five  miles,  most  of  the  distance  dragging  their 
sledge. 

Dr.  Hayes  took  the  sick  in  hand.  Two  lost  one 
or  more  toes ;  and  two,  Jefferson  Baker,  a  boyhood 
playfellow  of  Dr.  Kane,  and  Pierre  Schubert,  the 
French  cook,  died. 


More.  Heroic  Excursions.  43 


CHAPTER   V. 

MORE    HEROIC    EXCURSIONS. 

ON  the  seventh  of  April,  a  week  after  the 
return  of  the  party  just  noted,  our  explorers 
were  startled  by  shouts  from  the  shore.  Dark  fig 
ures  were  seen  standing  along  the  edges  of  the 
land  ice,  or  running  to  and  fro  in  wild  excitement. 
It  was  not  difficult  to  make  them  out  as  a  company 
of  Esquimo.  Dr.  Kane,  seeing  by  their  wild  ges 
ticulations  that  they  were  unarmed,  walked  out 
and  beckoned  to  a  brawny  savage,  who  seemed  to 
be  a  leader,  to  approach.  He  understood  the  sign, 
and  came  forward  without  fear.  He  was  full  a 
head  taller  than  the  doctor,  and  his  limbs  seemed 
to  have  the  strength  of  those  of  the  bear.  He 
was  dressed  with  a  fox  skin,  hooded  jumper, 
white  bear-skin  trousers,  and  bear-skin  boots  tipped 
with  the  claws.  Though  he  had  evidently  never 
before  seen  a  white  man,  he  manifested  no  fear. 
His  followers  soon  crowded  around  and  began  to 
use  great  freedom,  showing  an  inclination  to  rush 
on  board  the  ship.  This  they  were  made  to  un 
derstand  they  must  not  do.  Petersen  came  out 
and  acted  as  interpreter,  and  matters  went  on 
more  smoothly.  The  leader,  whose  name  was 
Metek,  was  taken  on  board,  while  the  rest  remained 
on  the  ice.  They  brought  up  from  behind  the 


44  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

floes  fifty-six  dogs  and  their  sledges,  and,  thrusting 
a  spear  into  the  ice,  picketed  them  about  the  vessel. 

While  Dr.  Kane  and  Metek  were  having  their 
interview  in  the  cabin,  word  was  sent  out  that 
others  might  come  on  board.  Nine  or  ten  mounted 
the  ladder  with  boisterous  shouts,  though  ignorant 
of  how  Metek  had  fared.  They  went  every-where, 
handled  every  thing,  talked  and  laughed  inces 
santly,  and  stole  whatever  they  could.  Finally  all 
hands  had  to  be  mustered,  and  restraint  laid  upon 
the  Esquimo  to  keep  them  within  due  bounds. 
This  they  took  good  naturedly;  ran  out  and  in  the 
vessel,  ate,  and  finally  sat  down  like  tired  children, 
their  heads  drooping  upon  their  breasts,  and  slept, 
snoring  the  while  most  famously. 

In  the  morning,  before  they  departed,  the  com 
mander  assembled  them  on  deck  for  an  official 
interview.  He  enlarged  upon  his  wonderful  qual 
ities  as  a  chief,  and  the  great  benefits  to  his  visit 
ors  of  his  friendship.  He  then  entered  into  a 
treaty  with  them,  the  terms  of  which  were  very  few 
and  simple,  that  it  might  be  understood,  and  the 
benefits  mutual,  that  it  might  be  kept.  He  then 
showed  his  beneficence  by  buying  all  their  spare 
walrus  meat  and  four  dogs,  enriching  them  in  com 
pensation  with  a  few  needles,  beads,  and  treasures 
of  old  cask  staves.  The  Esquimo  were  jubilant. 
They  voted,  in  their  way,  Dr.  Kane  a  great  cap 
tain,  promised  vociferously  to  return  in  a  few  days 
with  plenty  of  walrus  meat,  and  loan  their  dogs 
and  sledges  for  the  great  northern  journey,  all  of 
which  they  never  remembered  to  do. 


More  Heroic  Excursions.  45 

When  ^fie  visitors  had  gone,  it  was  ascertained 
that  an  ax*  a  saw,  and  some  knives,  had  gone 
with  them.  Besides,  the  store-house  on  Butler 
Island  had  been  entered,  and  a  careful  survey  of 
the  vicinity  revealed  the  fact  that  a  train  of  sledges 
were  slyly  waiting  behind  some  distant  hummocks 
for  a  freight  of  its  treasures. 

All  this  had  a  hard  look  for  friendly  relations 
with  the  Esquimo;  but  our  explorers  felt  that  con 
ciliation,  with  quiet  firmness,  was  their  best  poli 
cy.  The  savages  could  do  their  sledge  excursions 
much  harm,  and,  if  they  would,  could  greatly  aid 
them. 

The  next  day  there  came  to  the  vessel  five  na 
tives — two  old  men,  a  middle  aged  man,  and  two 
awkward  boys.  They  were  treated  with  marked 
kindness,  some  presents  were  given  them,  but  they 
were  told  that  no  Esquimo  would  in  future  be  ad 
mitted  to  the  brig  until  every  stolen  article  was 
restored.  They  were  overjoyed  at  the  gifts,  and 
departed,  lifting  up  their  hands  in  hoi)''  horror  on 
the  mention  of  theft ;  yet  in  passing  round  Butler 
Island  they  bore  away  a  coal  barrel.  M'Gary  was 
watching  them,  and  he  hastened  their  departure 
by  a  charge  of  fine  shot.  Notwithstanding  all  this, 
one  of  the  old  men,  known  afterward  as  Shung-hu, 
made  a  circuit  round  the  hummocks,  and  came 
upon  an  India-rubber  boat  which  had  been  left 
upon  the  floe,  and  cut  it  in  pieces  and  carried  off 
the  wood  of  the  frame-work. 

Soon  after  this  a  sprightly  youth,  good-looking, 
with  a  fine  dog  team,  drove  up  to  the  vessel  in 


46  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

open  day.  When  asked  his  name,  he  replied 
promptly,  "  Myouk  I  am."  He  spoibifjeely  of  his 
place  of  residence  and  people,  but  when  asked 
about  the  stolen  articles  he  affected  great  igno 
rance.  Dr.  Kane  ordered  him  to  be  confiried  in 
the  hold.  He  took  this  very  hard,  at  first  refusing" 
food.  He  soon  after  began  to  sing  in  a  dolorous 
strain,  then  to  talk  and  cry,  and  then  to  sing  again. 
The  hearts  of  his  captors  were  made  quite  tender 
toward  him,  and  when  in  the  morning  it  was  found 
that  the  prisoner  had  lifted  the  hatches  and  fled, 
taking  his  dogs  with  him,  even  the  commander 
secretly  rejoiced. 

April  twenty-fifth,  M'Gary  and  five  men  started 
with  the  sledge  "Faith, "on  another  exploring  excur 
sion.  They  took  a  small  stock  only  of  provisions, 
depending  on  the  supply  depots  which  had  been 
made  in  the  fall.  The  plan  this  time  was,  to  fol 
low  the  eastern  coast  line  a  while,  which  run  north 
and  west,  cross  over  Smith  Sound  to  the  American 
side,  where  it  was  hoped  smooth  ice  would  be 
found ;  and  once  on  such  a  highway,  they  antici 
pated  that  the  Polar  Sea  would  greet  their  delighted 
vision,  and  may  be  speak  to  them  of  the  fate  of  the 
lost  Franklin. 

Two  days  after  M'Gary's  party  left,  Dr.  Kane 
and  Godfrey  followed  with  the  dog  sledge  loaded 
with  additional  comforts  for  the  journey,  the  men 
trotting  by  its  side.  Only  three  dogs  remained  of 
the  original  supplies,  which,  harnessed  with  the 
four  purchased  of  the  Esquimo,  made  a  tolerable 
team. 


More  Heroic  Excursions.  47 

Ten  men,  four  in  health  and  six  invalids,  were 
left  to  kd%>i^e  vessel.  Orders  were  left  by  the 
commander  to  treat  the  Esquimo,  should  they 
come  again,  with  fairness  and  conciliation,  but  if 
necessity  demanded  to  use  fire  arms,  but  to  waste 
no  powder  or  shot.  The  credit  of  the  gun  must 
be  sustained  as  the  bearer  of  certain  death  to  the 
white  man's  enemies. 

Dr.  Kane  and  his  companions  overtook  the  ad 
vanced  party  in  two  days.  They  pushed  forward 
together  with  tolerable  success  for  four  days  more, 
when  they  all  became  involved  in  deep  snow-drifts. 
The  dogs  floundered  about  nearly  suffocated,  and 
unable  to  draw  the  sledge.  The  men  were  com 
pelled  to  take  the  load  on  their  backs,  and  kick  a 
path  for  the  dogs  to  follow.  In  the  midst  of  these 
toils  the  scurvy  appeared  among  the  men,  and 
some  of  the  strongest  were  ready  to  yield  the  con 
flict  altogether.  The  next  day,  May  fourth,  Dr. 
Kane,  while  taking  an  observation  for  latitude 
fainted,  and  was  obliged  to  ride  on  the  sledge. 
Still  the  party  pushed  on ;  but  they  soon  met  with 
an  obstacle  no  heroism  could  overcome.  They 
were  without  food  for  further  journeying !  The 
bears  had  destroyed  their  carefully  deposited  stores. 
They  had  removed  stones  which  had  required  the 
full  strength  of  three  men  to  lift.  They  had  broken 
the  iron  meat  casks  into  small  pieces.  An  alcohol 
cask,  which  had  cost  Dr.  Kane  a  special  journey  in 
the  late  fall  to  deposit,  was  so  completely  crushed 
that  a  whole  stave  could  not  be  found. 

On  the  fifth  of  May  Dr.  Kane  became  delirious, 


48  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

and  was  lashed  to  the  sledge,  while  his  brave, 
though  nearly  fainting,  men  took  the  buck  track. 
They  arrived  at  the  brig  in  nine  days,  and  their 
commander  was  borne  to  his  berth,  where  he  lay 
for  many  days,  between  life  and  death,  with  the 
scurvy  and  typhoid  fever.  Thus  closed  another 
effort  to  unlock  the  secrets  of  the  extreme  polar 
region. 

Hans  made  himself  exceedingly  useful  at  this 
time.  He  was  promoted  to  the  post  of  hunter,  and 
excused  from  all  other  duties ;  he  was  besides 
promised  presents  to  his  lady-love  on  reaching  his 
home  at  Fiskernaes.  He  brought  in  two  deer,  the 
first  taken,  on  the  day  of  this  special  appoint 
ment.  The  little  snow-birds  had  come,  of  which 
he  shot  many.  The  seal,  too,  were  abundant,  and 
some  of  them  were  added  to  the  fresh  provisions. 
These  wonderfully  improved  those  touched  by  the 
scurvy. 

One  day  Hans  was  sent  to  hunt  toward  the  Es- 
quimo  huts,  that  he  might  get  information  con 
cerning  the  nearness  to  the  brig  of  clear  water. 
He  did  not  come  back  that  night,  and  Dr.  Hays 
and  Mr.  Ohlsen  were  sent  with  the  dog-sledge  to 
hunt  him  up.  They  found  him  lying  on  the  ice 
about  five  miles  from  the  vessel,  rolled  up  in  his 
furs  and  sound  asleep.  At  his  side  lay  a  large 
seal,  shot,  as  usual,  in  the  head.  He  had  dragged 
this  seal  seven  hours,  and,  getting  weary,  had  made 
his  simple  camp  and  was  resting  sweetly. 

May  twentieth,  Dr.  Hays  and  Godfrey  started 
with  the  dog  team,  to  make  another  attempt  to 


More  Heroic  Excursions.  49 

cross  Smith  Strait  and  reach,  along  the  American 
side,  the  ifnknown  north.  The  doctor  was  a  fresh 
man,  not  having  been  with  any  previous  party. 
The  dogs  were  rested,  well  fed,  and  full  of  wolfish 
energy.  The  second  day  he  fortunately  struck 
into  a  track  free  from  heavy  ice,  and  made  fifty 
miles  !  But  this  success  was  after  the  arctic  fash 
ion,  made  to  give  bitterness  to  immediate  fail 
ure.  On  the  third  day  they  encountered  hum 
mocks,  piled  in  long  ridges  across  their  path  ;  some 
of  them  were  twenty  feet  high.  Over  some  of 
these  they  climbed,  dragging  after  them  both 
sledge  and  dogs.  Long  diversions  were  made  at 
other  times,  and  their  path  became  in  this  way  so 
very  tortuous  that  in  making  ninety  miles  advance 
northward  they  traveled  two  hundred  and  seventy 
miles ! 

Snow-blindness  seized  Dr.  Hays  in  the  midst  of 
these  toils.  But,  nothing  daunted,  after  short  halts, 
in  which  his  sight  improved,  he  pushed  on.  But 
Godfrey  soon  broke  down,  though  one  of  the  hard 
iest  of  explorers.  Their  dogs,  too,  began  to  droop ; 
the  provisions  were  running  low,  and  so  the  home 
ward  track  was  taken.  Before  they  reached  the 
vessel  they  were  obliged  to  lighten  their  load  by 
throwing  away  fifty  pounds  weight  of  furs,  the 
heaviest  of  which  had  been  used  as  sleeping  bags. 

This  excursion  resulted  in  valuable  additions  to 
the  extreme  northern  coast-line  survey. 

On  the  afternoon  of  June  fourth,  M'Gary,  with 
four  men,  started  on  a  last  desperate  effort  to  push 
the  survey,  on  the  Greenland  side,  a  hundred  miles 


5o  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

farther,  by  which  Dr.  Kane  thought  the  limits  of 
the  ice  in  that  direction  might  be  reached.  Mor 
ton,  one  of  the  company,  was  to  keep  himself  as 
fresh  as  possible,  so  that  when  the  rest  came  to  a 
final  halt  he  might  be  able  to  push  on  farther. 
Hans  was  kept  at  the  vessel  until  the  tenth,  four 
days  later,  when  he  started  light  with  the  dog- 
sledge  to  join  them.  His  part  was  to  accompany 
Morton  on  the  final  run. 

The  hunter  of  the  vessel  being  gone,  Dr.  Kane, 
who  was  now  much  better,  took  his  rifle  to  try  his 
skill  at  seal  hunting.  This  animal  is  not  easily 
taken  by  unpracticed  game  seekers.  He  lies  near 
the  hole  which  he  keeps  open  in  the  ice,  and  at 
the  slightest  noise  plunges  out  of  sight.  Seeing 
one  lying  lazily  in  the  sun,  the  doctor  lay  down 
and  drew  himself  along  softly  behind  the  little 
knobs  of  ice.  It  was  a  cold,  tedious  process,  but 
finally  getting  within  a  long  rifle  shot,  the  seal 
rolled  sluggishly  to  one  side,  raised  his  head,  and 
strained  his  neck,  as  if  seeing  something  in  an  op 
posite  direction.  Just  then  the  doctor  saw  with 
surprise  a  rival  hunter.  A  large  bear  lay,  like  him 
self,  on  his  belly,  creeping  stealthily  toward  the 
game.  Here  was  a  critical  position.  If  he  shot 
the  seal,  the  bear  would  probably  have  no  scruples 
about  taking  it  off  his  hands,  and,  perhaps,  by  way 
of  showing  that  might  makes  right,  take  him  before 
his  rifle  could  be  reloaded.  While  the  doctor  was 
debating  the  matter  the  seal  made  another  move 
ment  which  stirred  his  hunter  blood,  and  he  pulled 
the  trigger.  The  cap  only  exploded.  The  seal, 


More  Heroic  Excursions.  51 

alarmed,  descended  into  the  deep  with  a  flounder 
ing  splash  ;  and  the  bear,  with  a  few  vigorous  leaps, 
stood,  a  disappointed  hunter,  looking  after  him 
from  the  edge  of  the  hole.  Bruin  and  Dr.  Kane 
were  now  face  to  face.  By  all  the  rules  of  game- 
taking  the  bear  should  have  eaten  the  man ;  he 
was  the  stronger  party,  the  gun  was  for  the  mo 
ment  useless,  he  was  hungry,  and  had  lost  his  din 
ner  probably  by  the  intrusive  coming  of  the  stran 
ger,  and,  as  to  running,  there  was  no  danger  of  his 
escape  in  that  way.  But  the  bear  magnanimously 
turned  and  ran  away.  Not  to  be  outdone  in  court 
esy,  Dr.  Kane  turned  and  ran  with  all  his  might 
in  the  opposite  direction. 

On  the  twenty-sixth,  M'Gary,  Bonsall,  Hickey, 
and  Riley  returned.  The  snow  had  almost  made 
them  blind  ;  otherwise  they  were  well.  They  had 
been  gone  about  three  weeks,  had  made  valuable 
surveys,  and  fully  satisfied  the  expectations  of  their 
commander.  Hans  caught  up  with  them  after  two 
weeks  of  heroic  travel  alone  with  his  dogs  and 
sledge.  He  and  Morton  had,  in  accordance  with 
the  programme,  pressed  on  farther  northward. 

The  returned  party  had  their  adventure  with  a 
bear  to  tell.  They  had  all  lain  down  to  sleep  in 
their  tent  after  a  wearisome  day  of  travel.  The 
midnight  hour  had  passed  when  Bonsall  felt  some 
thing  scratching  at  the  snow  near  his  head,  and, 
starting  up,  ascertained  that  a  huge  bear  was  mak 
ing  careful  observations  around  the  outside  of  the 
tent.  He  had,  in  looking  round,  already  observed, 
no  doubt,  the  important  fact  that  the  guns,  and 
4 


$2  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

every  thing  like  a  defensive  weapon,  were  left  on 
the  sledge  some  distance  off,  though  perhaps  the 
importance  to  him  of  this  fact  he  did  not  appreci 
ate.  There  was  consternation,  of  course,  in  the 
camp,  and  a  council  of  war  was  called.  It  had 
hardly  convened  before  bruin,  as  a  party  con 
cerned,  thrust  his  head  into  the  tent  door.  A 
volley  of  lucifer  matches  was  fired  at  him,  and  a  pa 
per  torch  was  thrust  into  his  face.  Without  mind 
ing  these  discourteous  acts,  the  bear  deliberately 
sat  down  and  commenced  eating  a  seal  which  had 
been  shot  the  day  before  and  happened  to  be  in 
his  way.  By  the  laws  of  arctic  hospitality  this 
should  have  been  considered  fair  by  the  tent's 
company,  for  strangers  are  expected  to  come  and 
go  as  they  please,  and  eat  what  they  find,  not  even 
saying,  "By  your  leave."  But  the  stranger  did  not 
conform  to  the  usage  of  the  country.  Tom  Hick- 
ey  cut  a  hole  in  the  back  of  the  tent,  seized  a  boat- 
hookr  which  made  one  of  its  supporters,  and  at 
tacked  the  enemy  in  the  rear.  He  turned  on  his  as 
sailant  and  received  a  well-aimed  blow  on  his  nose, 
by  which  he  was  persuaded  to  retire  beydnd  the 
sledge  and  there  to  pause  and  consider  what  to  do 
next.  While  the  bear  was  thus  in  council  with  him 
self,  Hickey  sprang  forward,  seized  a  rifle  from  the 
sledge,  almost  under  the  nose  of  the  enemy,  and 
fell  back  upon  his  companions.  Bonsall  took  the 
deadly  weapon  and  sent  a  ball  through  and  through 
the  bear,  and  the  disturber  of  the  rest  of  our  ex 
plorers  afforded  them  many  bountiful  repasts. 


The  Open  Sea.  53 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    OPEN     SEA. 

MORTON  and  Hans  returned  to  the  brig  on 
the  tenth  of  July,  after  having  been  on 
their  separate  exploration  three  weeks  and  a  half. 
Their  story  is  full  of  thrilling  incidents  and  im 
portant  results. 

The  first  day  they  made  twenty-eight  miles,  and 
were  greatly  encouraged.  The  next  day  the  arctic 
enemies  of  exploration  appeared  on  the  field,  skir 
mishing  with  deep  snow  through  which  dogs  and 
men  had  to  wade.  Next  came  a  compact  host  of 
icebergs.  They  were  not  the  surface-worn,  dingy- 
looking  specimens  of  Baffin  Bay,  but  fresh  pro 
ductions  from  the  grand  glacier  near  which  they 
lay.  Their  color  was  bluish  white,  and  their  out 
lines  clearly  and  beautifully  defined.  Some  were 
square,  often  a  quarter  of  a  mile  each  side. 
Others  were  not  less  than  a  mile  long,  and  narrow. 
Now  and  then  one  of  colossal  size  lifted  its  head 
far  above  its  fellows,  like  a  grand  observatory. 
Between  these  giant  bergs  were  crowded  smaller 
ones  of  every  imaginable  size  and  form. 

Through  these  our  explorers  had  to  pick  their 
way.  Beginning  one  night  at  eight,  they  dashed 
along  through  a  narrow  lane,  turning  this  way  and 
that,  for  seven  hours.  Then  they  came  against 


54  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

the  face  of  a  solid  ice-cliff,  closing  the  path  alto 
gether.  Back  they  urged  their  weary  dogs,  and 
their  own  weary  selves,  looking  for  an  opening  by 
which  they  might  turn  north,  but  none  appeared 
until  they  reached  the  camp  from  which  they  had 
started.  Resting  awhile,  they  commenced  anew. 

Sometimes  they  climbed  over  an  ice  hillock, 
making  a  ladder  of  their  sledge.  Morton  would 
climb  up  first,  and  then  draw  up  the  dogs,  around 
whose  bodies  Hans  tied  a  rope  ;  then  the  load  was 
passed  up ;  lastly  Hans  mounted,  and  drew  up  the 
sledge. 

Having  broken  through  the  bergy  detachment 
of  their  arctic  foes  and  reached  smoother  ice, 
other  opposing  columns  met  them.  Dense  mists, 
giving  evidence  of  open  water,  chilled  and  bewil 
dered  them ;  but  the  welcome  birds,  giving  other 
proof  of  the  nearness  of  the  Polar  Sea,  cheered 
them  on. 

The  next  attack  was  in  the  form  of  insecure 
ice.  The  dogs  were  dashing  on  in  their  wild 
flight  when  it  began  to  yield  beneath  them.  The 
dogs  trembled  with  fear  and  lay  down,  as  is  their 
habit  in  such  cases.  Hans,  by  a  skillful  mingling 
of  force  and  coaxing,  succeeding  in  getting  the 
party  out  of  the  danger. 

At  one  time  a  long,  wide  channel  presented  its 
protest  to  their  farther  progress.  To  this  they 
were  obliged  so  far  to  yield  as  to  go  ten  miles  out 
of  their  way  to  reach  its  northern  side. 

Their  right  of  way  was  also  challenged  by  seams 
in  the  ice  often  four  feet  deep,  filled  with  water, 


The  Open  Sea.  55 

and  too  wide  for  their  best  jumping  ability.  These 
they  filled  up  by  attacking  the  nearest  hummocks 
with  their  axes  and  tumbling  the  fragments  into 
it  until  a  bridge  was  made.  This  work  often 
caused  hours  of  delay. 

The  signs  of  open  water  became  more  and  more 
apparent.  The  birds  were  so  plenty  j;hat  Hans 
brought  down  two  at  one  shot.  Soon  they  struck 
the  icy  e$g|%of  a  channel.  Along  this  they 
coasted  on  the  land  side.  It  brought  them  to  a 
cape  around  which  the  channel  run  close  to  a 
craggy  point.  Here  they  deposited  a  part  of  their 
provisions  to  lighten  the  sledge.  Morton  went 
ahead  to  learn  the  condition  of  the  land-ice  round 
the  point.  He  found  it  narrow  and  decaying,  so 
that  he  feared  there  would  be  none  on  their  re 
turn  ;  yet,  forward  !  was  the  word.  The  dogs  were 
unloosed  and  driven  forward  alone ;  then  Hans 
and  Morton  tilted  the  sledge  edgewise  and  drew  it 
along,  while  far  below  the  gurgling  waters  were 
rushing  southward  with  a  freight  of  crushed  ice. 

The  cape  passed,  they  opened  into  a  bay  of 
clear  water  extending  far  and  wide.  Along  its 
ehore  was  a  wide,  smooth  ice-belt.  Over  this  the 
dogs  scampered  with  their  sledge  and  men  with 
wonderful  fleetness,  making  sixty  miles  the  first 
day !  The  land  grew  more  and  more  sloping  to 
the  bay  as  they  advanced  until  it  opened  from  the 
sea  into  a  plain  between  two  elevated  rocky  ranges. 
Into  -this  they  entered,  steering  north,  until  they 
struck  the  entrance  of  a  bay;  but  the  rugged  ice 
across  their  path  forbid  farther  sledge-travel  in 


56  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

that  direction.  So  they  picketed,  securely,  as  they 
thought,  the  dogs,  took  each  a  back  load  of  pro 
visions,  and  went  forward.  Their  trusty  rifles 
were  in  hand,  and  their  boat-hook  and  a  few  sci 
entific  instruments  were  carefully  secured  to  their 
persons.  Thus  equipped,  they  had  tramped  about 
nine  miles  from  the  last  camp  when  an  exciting 
scene  occurred.  It  was  a  bear  fight,  shaded  this 
time  with  the  tender  and  tragic.  A  mother-bear 
and  her  child  came  in  sight.  They  were  a  loving 
couple,  and  had  plainly  been  engaged  in  a  frolic 
together.  Their  tracks  were  scattered  profusely 
about,  like  those  of  school  children  at  recess  in  a 
recent  snow.  There  were  also  long  furrows  down 
the  sloping  side  of  an  ice-hill,  upon  and  around 
which  the  footprints  were  seen.  Morton  declared 
that  they  had  been  coasting  down  this  slope  on 
their  haunches,  and  this  opinion  was  supported  by 
the  fact  that  Dr.  Kane  did,  at  another  time,  see 
bears  thus  coasting ! 

Five  of  the  dogs  had  broken  away  from  their 
cords  and  had  overtaken  their  masters.  So  they 
were  on  hand  for  the  fight. 

Mother  and  child  fled  with  nimble  feet,  and  the 
dogs  followed  in  hot  pursuit.  The  bear,  being 
overtaken  by  her  enemies,  began  a  most  skillful 
and  heroic  skirmishing.  The  cub  could  not  keep 
up  with  its  mother,  so  she  turned  back,  put  her 
head  under  its  haunches  and  threw  it  some  dis 
tance  ahead,  intimating  to  it  to  run,  while  she  faced 
the  dogs.  But  the  little  simpleton  always  stopped 
just  where  it  alighted,  and  waited  for  mamma  to 


The  Open  Sea.  57 

give  it  another  throw !  To  vary  the  mode  of 
operation,  she  occasionally  seized  it  by  the  nape 
of  the  neck  and  flung  it  out  of  harms  way,  and 
then  snapped  at  the  dogs  with  an  earnestness  that 
meant  business.  Sometimes  the  mother  would 
run  a  little  ahead  and  then  turn,  as  if  to  coax  the 
little  one  to  run  to  her,  watching  at  the  same  time 
the  enemy. 

For  a  while  the  bear  contrived  to  make  good 
speed ;  but  the  little  one  became  tired  and  she 
came  to  a  halt.  The  men  came  up  with  their 
rifles  and  the  fight  became  unequal,  yet  the  moth 
er's  courage  was  unabated.  She  sat  upon  her 
haunches  and  took  the  cub  between  her  hind 
legs,  and  fought  the  dogs  with  her  paws.  "  Nev 
er,"  says  Morton,  "  was  animal  more  distressed ; 
her  roaring  could  have  been  heard  a  mile !  She 
would  stretch  her  neck  and  snap  at  the  nearest 
dog  with  her  shining  teeth,  whirling  her  paws  like 
the  arms  of  a  windmill."  Missing  her  intended 
victim,  she  sent  after  him  a  terrific  growl  of  baffled 
rage. 

When  the  men  came  up  the  little  one  was  so 
far  rested  as  to  nimbly  turn  with  its  mother  and 
so  keep  front  of  her  belly.  The  dogs,  in  heartless 
mockery  of  her  situation,  continued  a  lively  frisk 
ing  on  every  side  of  her,  torturing  her  at  a  safe 
distance  for  themselves. 

Such  was  the  position  of  the  contending  parties 
when  Hans  threw  himself  upon  the  ice,  rested 
upon  his  elbows,  took  deliberate  aim,  and  sent 
a  ball  through  the  heroic  mother's  head.  She 


58  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

dropped,  rolled  over,  relieved  at  once  of  her 
agony  and  her  life. 

The  cub  sprung  upon  the  dead  body  of  its  moth 
er  and  for  the  first  time  showed  fight.  The  dogs, 
thinking  the  conflict  ended,  rushed  upon  the  pros 
trate  foe,  tearing  away  mouthfuls  of  hair.  But 
they  were  glad  to  retreat  with  whole  skins  to  their 
own  backs.  It  growled  hoarsely,  and  fought  with 
genuine  fury. 

The  dogs  were  called  off,  and  Hans  sent  a  ball 
through  its  head ;  yet  it  contrived  to  rise  after  fall 
ing,  and  climbed  again  upon  its  mother's  body. 
It  was  mercifully  dispatched  by  another  ball. 

The  men  took  the  skin  of  the  mother  and  the 
little  one  for  their  share  of  the  spoils,  and  the  dogs 
gorged  themselves  on  the  greater  carcass. 

After  this  incident  the  journey  of  our  explorers 
soon  ended.  Hans  gave  out,  and  was  ordered  to 
turn  leisurely  aside  and  examine  the  bend  of  the 
bay  into  which  they  had  entered.  Morton  contin 
ued  on  toward  the  termination  of  a  cape  which 
rose  abruptly  two  thousand  feet.  He  tried  to  get 
round  it,  but  the  ice-foot  was  gone.  He  climbed 
up  its  sides  until  he  reached  a  position  four  hun 
dred  and  forty  feet,  commanding  a  horizon  of  forty 
'miles.  The  view  was  grand.  The  sea  seemed  al 
most  boundless,  and  dashed  in  noisy  surges  below, 
while  the  birds  curveted  and  screamed  above. 
Making  a  flag-staff  of  his  walking-stick,  he  threw 
to  the  wind  a  Grinnell  flag.  It  had  made  the  far 
southern  voyage  with  Commodore  Wilkes,  and  had 
come  on  a  second  arctic  voyage.  It  now  floated 


•    The  Open  Sea.  59 

over    the    most    northern    known    land    of    the 
globe. 

Feasting  his  eyes  with  the  scenery  for  an  hour 
and  a  half,  Morton  struck  his  flag  and  rejoined 
Hans.  The  run  home  had  its  perils  and  narrow 
escapes,  but  was  made  without  accident,  and  with 
some  additional  surveys. 


60  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

AN    IMPORTANT    MOVEMENT. 

IT  was  now  well  into  July.  The  last  proposed 
survey  was  made,  and  all  hands  were  on  ship 
board.  But  the  arctic  fetters  still  bound  the  "  Ad 
vance,"  with  no  signs  of  loosening.  The  garb  of 
midwinter  was  yet  covering  land  and  sea,  and  in 
every  breeze  there  was  a  dismal  whisper  to  the  ex 
plorers  of  another  winter  in  the  ice.  The  thought 
was  appalling  to  both  officers  and  men.  They 
had  neither  health,  food,  nor  fuel  for  such  an  ex 
perience.  To  abandon  the  vessel  and  try  to  es 
cape  with  the  boats  and  sledges  was  impossible  in 
the  prostrate  condition  of  the  men. 

Having  carefully  studied  the  situation  Dr.  Kane 
resolved  to  try  to  reach  Beechy  Island,  and  thus 
communicate  with  the  British  exploring  expedition, 
or  by  good  luck  with  some  whaler,  and  so  secure 
relief.  This  island  we  have  often  visited  in  our 
voyages  with  the  "Arctic  Heroes."  It  is,  it  will 
be  recollected,  at  the  mouth  of  Wellington  Chan 
nel. 

When  this  plan  was  announced  to  the  officers  it 
was  approved  cordially.  Both  officers  and  men 
were  ready  to  volunteer  to  accompany  him ;  he 
chose  five  only — M'Gary,  Morton,  Riley,  Hickey, 
and  Hans.  Their  boat  was  the  old  "  Forlorn 


An  Important  Movement.  6 1 

Hope."  The  outfit  was  the  best  possible,  though 
poor  enough.  The  "  Hope  "  was  mounted  on  the 
sledge  "  Faith  ;  "  the  provisions  were  put  on  a 
"St.  John's  sledge."  The  "Faith"  started  off 
ahead ;  the  smaller  sledge,  to  which  Dr.  Kane  and 
two  of  the  men  attached  themselves,  followed. 

It  took  five  days  of  incessant  toil,  with  many 
head  flows,  to  reach  the  water'  and  launch  the 
"  Hope,"  though  the  distance  from  the  brig  was 
only  twenty  miles. 

The  boat  behaved  well,  and  they  reached  Lit 
tleton  Island,  where  they  were  rejoiced  to  see  nu 
merous  ducks.  Watching  their  course  as  they  flew 
away,  the  explorers  were  led  to  several  islets, 
whose  rocky  ledges  were  covered  with  their  nests, 
and  around  which  they  hovered  in  clouds.  The 
young  birds  were  taking  their  first  lesson  in  flying, 
or  were  still  nestling  under  their  mothers'  wings. 
In  a  few  hours  over  two  hundred  birds  were  taken, 
the  gun  bringing  down  several  at  one  shot,  and 
others  were  knocked  over  with  stones.  But  the 
men  were  not  the  only  enemies  of  the  ducks. 
Near  by  was  a  settlement  of  a  large,  voracious  spe 
cies  of  gull.  They  swooped  down,  seized,  gob 
bled  up,  and  bore  away  to  their  nests  the  young 
eiders,  without  seeming  to  doubt  that  they  were 
doing  a  fair  and,  to  themselves,  a  pleasant  busi 
ness.  The  gulls  would  seize  the  little  eiders  with 
their  great  yellow  bills,  throw  their  heads  up,  and 
then  their  victims  would  disappear  down  their 
throats,  and  in  a  few  moments  after  they  would 
be  ejected  into  their  nests  and  go  down  the  throats 


62  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

of  their  young.  The  ducks  fought  the  gulls  brave 
ly  in  the  interests  of  their  brood,  but  the  victory 
was  with  the  stronger. 

Our  voyagers  pitied,  of  course,  the  bereaved 
eider  mothers,  despised  the  cormorant  gulls,  but 
gladly  increased  their  stock  of  needed  provisions 
with  both.  They  filled  four  large  india  rubber 
bags  with  these  sea-fowl  after  cleaning  and  rudely 
boning  them. 

Leaving  this  profitable  camping  place,  the  boat 
was  soon  in  the  open  sea-way.  One  day's  pleas 
ant  sailing  was  quite  as  much  in  that  way  as  expe 
rience  taught  them  to  expect.  A  violent  storm 
arose,  the  waves  ran  high,  and  their  clumsy  boat, 
trembling  under  the  strain,  was  in  danger  of  sink 
ing  at  any  moment.  The  safety  of  the  whole 
company  depended  entirely  upon  the  skill  and 
nerve  of  M'Gary.  For  twenty-two  successive 
hours  he  held  in  his  strong  grasp  the  steering  oar 
and  kept  the  head  of  the  boat  to  the  sea.  A  break 
of  the  oar  or  a  slip  from  his  hand  and  all  was 
lost!  They  finally  grappled  an  old  floe  in  a 
slightly  sheltered  place,  and  rode  out  the  storm. 

For  twelve  days  heroic  exertions  were  made  to 
get  the  boat  through  the  pack  which  now  beset 
them,  with  the  view  of  working  south  and  west.  Lit 
tle  progress  was  made  and  the  men,  wet,  weary,  and 
worn,  began  to  fail.  In  view  of  this  state  of  things 
the  commander  directed  his  course  to  Northum 
berland  Island,  near  which  they  were  coasting. 
Here  they  found  three  recently  occupied,  but  now 
forsaken,  Esquimo  huts.  The  foxes  were  abun- 


An  Important  Movement.  63 

dant,  and  their  young  ones  greeted  the  strangers 
with  vociferous  barking.  They  found  here,  too, 
what  was  more  valuable — the  scurvy  grass.  Rest, 
fresh  fowl,  and  cochlearia  greatly  refreshed  the 
whole  party.  Seeing  the  utter  impossibility  of  go 
ing  south,  they  made  the  best  of  their  way  back  to 
the  brig.  It  was  a  sad  and  joyful  meeting  with 
their  old  comrades.  Their  return  safely  was  joy 
ful,  but  the  return  spoke  of  another  winter. 

By  great  exertions  the  brig  was  loosened  from 
her  icy  cradle  and  warped  to  a  position  more  fa 
vorable  for  an  escape  should  the  open  water  reach 
the  vicinity.  On  the  seventeenth  of  August,  in 
stead  of  a  glad  breaking  up  of  the  old  ice,  came 
the  formation  of  new  ice,  thick  enough  to  bear  a 
man.  The  question  of  an  escape  of  the  brig 
seemed  settled.  The  allowance  of  wood  was  fixed 
to  six  pounds  a  meal ;  this  gave  them  coffee 
twice  a  day  and  soup,  once.  Darkness  was  ahead, 
and  if  the  fuel  utterly  failed  it  would  be  doubly 
cheerless.  The  Sabbath  rest  and  devotions  be 
came  more  solemn.  The  prayer,  "  Lord,  accept 
our  gratitude  and  bless  our  undertakings,"  was 
changed  to,  "  Lord,  accept  our  gratitude  and  re 
store  us  to  our  homes." 

Affairs  looked  so  dark  that  Dr.  Kane  deemed  it 
wise  to  leave  a  record  of  the  expedition  on  some 
conspicuous  spot.  A  position  was  selected  on  a 
high  cliff  which  commanded  an  extensive  view 
over  the  icy  waste.  On  its  broad,  rocky  face  the 
words,  "  'Advance,'  A.  D.  1853-54,"  were  painted 
in  large  letters  which  could  be  read  afar  off,  A 


64  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

pyramid  of  heavy  stones  was  built  above  it  and 
marked  with  a  cross.  Beneath  it  they  reverently 
buried  the  bodies  of  their  deceased  companions. 
Near  this  a  hole  was  worked  into  the  rock,  and  a 
paper,  inclosed  in  a  glass  vessel  sealed  with  lead, 
was  deposited.  On  this  paper  was  written  the 
names  of  the  officers  and  crew,  the  results  in  gen 
eral  thus  far  of  the  expedition,  and  their  present 
condition.  They  proposed  to  add  to  the  deposit 
a  paper  -containing  the  date  of  their  departure, 
should  they  ever  get  away,  and  showing  their  plans 
of  escape. 

Now,  more  earnestly  than  ever,  the  winter  and 
what  to  do  was  looked  in  the  face.  Some  thought 
that  an  escape  to  South  Greenland  was  still  possi 
ble,  and  even  the  best  thing  to  do.  The  question 
of  detaching  a  part  of  the  company  to  make  the 
experiment  was  debated,  but  the  commander  ar 
rived  at  a  settled  conviction  that  such  an  enter 
prise  was  impracticable. 

In  the  mean  time  the  ice  and  tides  were  close 
ly  examined  for  a  considerable  distance,  for  the 
slightest  evidence  of  a  coming  liberation  of  the 
poor  ice-bound  craft. 

As  early  as  August  twenty-fourth  all  hopes  of 
such  a  liberation  seemed  to  have  faded  from 
every  mind.  The  whole  company,  officers  and 
crew,  were  assembled  in  council.  The  command 
er  gave  the  members  his  reasons  in  full  for  deem 
ing  it  wise  to  stand  by  the  vessel.  He  then  gave 
his  permission  for  any  part  of  the  company  who 
chose  to  do  so  to  depart  on  their  own  responsibil- 


An  Important  Movement.  65 

ity.  He  required  of  such  to  renounce  in  writing 
all  claims  upon  the  captain  and  those  who  re 
mained.  The  roll  was  then  called,  and  nine  out 
of  the  seventeen  decided  to  make  the  hazardous 
experiment.  At  the  head  of  this  party  was  Dr. 
Hayes  and  Petersen.  Besides  the  hope  of  a  suc 
cessful  escape,  they  were  influenced  in  the  course 
they  were  taking  by  the  thought  that  the  quarters 
in  the  brig  were  so  straitened  that  the  health  and 
comfort  of  those  remaining  would  be  increased, 
and  the  causes  of  disease  and  death  diminished  by 
their  departure ;  and  still  further,  if  the  withdraw 
ing  party  perished,  an  equal  number  was  likely  to 
die  if  all  remained. 

The  decision  having  been  made,  Dr.  Kane  gave 
them  a  liberal  portion  of  the  resources  of  the 
brig,  a  good-bye  blessing,  with  written  assurances 
of  a  brother's  welcome  should  they  return.  They 
left  August  twenty-eight. 

Those  who  remained  with  Dr.  Kane  were  Brooks, 
M'Gary,  Wilson,  Goodfellow,  Morton,  Ohlsen, 
Hickey,  and  Hans.  The  situation  of  these  was 
increasedly  dreary  on  the  departure  of  half  of 
their  companions.  They  felt  the  necessity  of  im 
mediate  systematic  action  to  drive  away  despond 
ing  thoughts,  as  well  as  to  make  the  best  possible 
preparation  for  the  coming  struggle  with  darkness, 
cold,  poverty,  and  disease.  The  discipline  of  the 
vessel,  with  all  its  formality  of  duties,  was  strictly 
maintained.  The  ceremonies  of  the  table,  the 
religious  services,  the  regular  watching,  in  which 
every  man  took  his  turn  unless  prevented  by  sick- 


65  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

ness,  the  scientific  observations  of  the  sky,  the 
weather  and  the  tides,  the  detailed  care  of  the  fire 
and  the  lights,  all  went  on  as  if  there  was  no  bur 
dens  of  mind  to  embarrass  them. 

In  view  of  the  small  stock  of  fuel,  they  com 
menced  turning  the  brig  into  something  like  an  Es- 
quimo  igloe  or  hut.  A  space  in  the  cabin  measur 
ing  twenty  feet  by  eighteen  was  set  off  as  a  room 
for  all  hands.  Every  one  then  went  to  work,  and, 
according  to  his  measure  of  strength,  gathered 
moss.  With  this  an  inner  wall  was  made  for  the 
cabin,  reaching  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling.  The 
floor  itself  was  calked  with  plaster  of  Paris  and 
common  paste,  then  two  inches  of  Manilla  oakum 
was  thrown  over  it,  and  upon  this  a  canvas  carpet 
was  spread.  From  this  room  an  avenue  three  feet 
high,  and  two  and  a  half  feet  wide,  was  made.  It 
was  twelve  feet  long,  and  descended  four  feet, 
opening  into  the  hold.  It  was  moss-lined,  and 
closed  with  a  door  at  each  end.  It  answered  to 
the  tossut  of  the  Esquimo  hut,  or  the  sort  of  tunnel 
through  which  they  creep  into  their  one  room. 
All  ingress  and  egress  of  our  explorers  were 
through  this  avenue  on  their  hands  and  knees. 
From  the  dark  hold  they  groped  their  way  to  the 
main  hatchway,  up  which,  by  a  stairway  of  boxes, 
they  ascended  into  the  open  air. 

The  quarter-deck  also  was  well  padded  with 
turf  and  moss.  When  this  was  done,  no  frost  king 
but  the  one  presiding  over  the  polar  regions  could 
have  entered.  Even  he  had  to  drop  his  crown  of 
icicles  at  the  outer  door  of  the  avenue. 


An  Important  Movement.  67 

The  next  step  was  to  secure,  so  far  as  possible,  a 
supply  of  fuel  for  the  coming  darkness.  A  small 
quantity  of  coal  yet  remained  for  an  emergency. 
They  began  now,  September  tenth,  to  strip  off 
some  of  the  extra  planking  outside  of  the  deck, 
and  to  pile  it  up  for  stove  use. 

Having  thus  put  the  brig  itself  into  winter  trim, 
they  went  diligently  to  work  to  arrange  its  imme 
diate  vicinity  on  the  floe.  Their  beef-house  came 
first,  which  was  simply  a  carefully  stowed  pile  of 
barrels  containing  their  water-soaked  beef  and 
pork.  Next  was  a  kind  of  block-house,  made 
of  the  barrels  of  flour,  beans,  and  dried  apples. 
From  a  flag-staff  on  one  corner  of  this  fluttered  a 
red  and  white  ensign,  which  gave  way  on  Sundays 
to  a  Grinnell  flag.  From  the  block-house  opened 
a  traveled  way,  which  they  called  New  London 
Avenue.  On  this  were  the  boats.  Around  all  this 
was  a  rope  barrier,  which  said  to  the  outside  world, 
Thus  far  only  shalt  thou  come  !  Outside  of  this 
was  a  magnificent  hut  made  of  barrel  frames  and 
snow,  for  the  special  use  of  Esquimo  visitors.  It 
was  in  great  danger  of  a  tearing  down  for  its 
coveted  wood. 
5 


68  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

TREATY     MAKING. 

THE  stock  of  fresh  provisions  was  now  alarm 
ingly  low.  To  secure  a  fresh  supply,  Dr. 
Kane  and  Hans  started  with  the  dog  team  on  a 
seal  hunt.  The  doctor  was  armed  with  his  Ken 
tucky  rifle,  and  Hans  with  a  harpoon  and  attached 
line.  They  carried  a  light  Esquimo  boat  to  secure 
the  prey  if  shot.  They  expected  to  find  seal  after 
a  ten  miles'  run,  but  the  ice  was  solid  until  they 
had  traveled  another  hour.  Now  they  entered 
upon  an  icy  plain  smooth  as  a  house  floor.  On 
the  dogs  galloped,  in  fine  spirits,  seeming  to  antici 
pate  the  shout  which  soon  came  from  Hans — 
"  Pusey,  puseymut!" — seal,  seal!  Just  ahead 
were  crowds  of  seals  playing  in  the  water.  But 
the  joy  of  the  hunters  was  instantly  turned  into  a 
chill  of  horror.  The  ice  was  bending  under  the 
weight  of  the  sledge,  and  rolling  in  wavy  swells 
before  it,  as  if  made  of  leather.  To  pause  was 
certain  death  to  dogs  and  men.  The  solid  floe 
was  a  mile  ahead.  Hans  shouted  fiercely  to  his 
dogs,  and  added  the  merciless  crack  of  his  whip 
to  give  speed  to  his  team ;  but  the  poor  creatures 
were  already  terror-stricken,  and  rushed  forward 
like  a  steam-car.  A  profound  silence  followed,  as 
painful  as  the  hush  of  the  wind  before  the  de- 


Treaty  Making.  69 

structive  tornado.  Nothing  more  could  be  done ; 
the  faithful  dogs  were  doing  their  utmost  to 
save  themselves  and  their  masters.  They  passed 
through  a  scattered  group  of  seals,  which,  breast- 
high  out  of  water,  mocked  them  with  their  cu 
rious,  complacent  gaze.  The  rolling,  crackling 
ice  increased  its  din,  and,  when  within  fifty  paces 
of  the  solid  floe  the  frightened  dogs  became  dis 
mayed,  and  they  paused  !  In  went  the  left  runner 
and  the  leading  dog,  then  followed  the  entire  left- 
hand  runner.  In  the  next  instant  Dr.  Kane,  the 
sledge  and  dogs,  were  mixed  up  in  the  snow  and 
water.  Hans  had  stepped  off  upon  ice  which  had 
not  yet  given  way,  and  was  uttering  in  his  broken 
English,  piteous  moans,  while  he  in  vain  reached 
forward  to  help  his  master.  He  was  ordered  to 
lay  down,  spread  out  his  hands  and  feet,  and  draw 
himself  to  the  floe  by  striking  his  knife  into  the 
ice.  The  doctor  cut  the  leader's  harness  and  let 
him  scramble  out,  for  he  was  crying  touchingly, 
and  drowning  his  master  by  his  caresses.  Relieved 
of  the  dog  he  tried  the  sledge,  but  it  sunk  under 
him ;  he  then  paddled  round  the  hole  endeavor 
ing  to  mount  the  ice,  but  it  gave  way  at  every 
effort,  thus  enlarging  the  sphere  of  operation  most 
uncomfortably,  and  exhausting  his  strength.  Hans 
in  the  mean  time  had  reached  solid  footing,  and 
was  on  his  knees  praying  incoherently  in  English 
and  Esquimo,  and  at  every  crushing-in  of  the  ice 
which  plunged  his  master  afresh  into  the  sea  ex 
claimed,  "  God  !  "  When  the  fatal  crisis  was  just 
at  hand,  deliverance  came  by  a  seeming  accident. 


jo  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

How  often  does-  God  deliver  by  such  seeming  acci 
dents  !  One  of  the  dogs  still  remained  attached 
to  the  sledge,  and  in  struggling  to  clear  himself 
drew  one  of  the  runners  broadside  against  the 
edge  of  the  circle.  It  was  the  drowning  man's 
last  chance.  He  threw  himself  on  his  back  so  as 
to  lessen  his  weight,  and  placed  the  nape  of  his 
neck  on  the  rim  of  the  ice  opposite  to  but  not  far 
from  the  sledge.  He  then  drew  his  legs  up  slowly 
and  placed  the  ball  of  his  moccasin  foot  against 
the  runner,  pressing  cautiously  and  steadily,  list 
ening  the  while  to  the  sound  of  the  half-yielding 
ice  against  which  the  other  runner  rested,  as  to 
a  note  which  proclaimed  his  sentence  of  life  or 
death.  The  ice,  holding  the  sledge,  only  faintly 
yielded,  while  he  felt  his  wet  fur  jumper  sliding 
up  the  surface ;  now  his  shoulders  are  on ;  now 
his  whole  body  steadily  ascends ;  he  is  safe. 

Hans  rubbed  his  master  with  frantic  earnestness 
until  the  flesh  glowed  again.  The  dogs  were  all 
saved,  but  the  sledge,  Esquimo  boat,  tent,  guns, 
and  snow-shoes  were  all  left  frozen  in  to  await  a 
return  trip.  A  run  of  twelve  miles  brought  them, 
worn  and  weary,  but  full  of  gratitude,  to  the  brig. 
The  fire  was  kindled,  one  of  the  few  remaining 
birds  cooked,  a  warm  welcome  given,  so  that  the 
peril  was  forgotten  except  in  the  occasion  it  gave 
for  increased  love  to  the  Deliverer. 

We  have  had  no  occasion  to  notice  the  Esqui 
mo  since  the  escape  from  prison  of  young  Myouk. 
Soon  after  Dr.  Hayes's  party  left,  three  natives  came. 
They  had  evidently  noted  the  departure  of  half 


Treaty  Making.  71 

of  the  number  of  the  strangers,  and  came  to  learn 
the  condition  of  those  left  behind.  It  was  Dr. 
Kane's  policy  to  conciliate  them,  while  carrying 
toward  them  a  steady,  and  when  needed,  as  it  was 
often,  a  restraining  hand. 

These  visitors  were  quartered  in  a  tent  in  the 
hold.  A  copper  lamp,  a  cooking-basin,  and  a  full 
supply  of  fat  for  fuel,  was  given  them.  They  ate, 
slept,  awoke,  ate  and  slept  again.  Dr.  Kane  left 
them  eating  at  two  o'clock  in  the. morning  when 
he  retired  to  the  cabin  to  sleep.  They  seemed 
soon  after  to  be  sleeping  so  soundly  that  the  watch 
set  over  them  also  slept.  In  the  morning  there 
were  no  Esquimo  on  board.  They  had  stolen  the 
lamp,  boiler,  and  cooking-pot  used  at  their  feast ; 
to  these  they  added  the  best  dog — the  only  one 
not  too  weary  from  the  late  excursion  to  travel. 
Besides,  finding  some  buffalo  robes  and  an  india- 
rubber  cloth  accidentally  left  on  the  floe,  they  took 
them  along  also. 

This  would  not  do.  The  savages  must  be 
taught  to  fear  as  well  as  to  respect  and  love  the 
white  men.  Morton  and  Riley,  two  of  the  best 
walkers,  were  sent  in  hot  pursuit.  Reaching  the 
hut  at  Anoatok,  they  found  young  Myouk  with 
the  wives  of  two  absent  occupants,  the  latter  mak 
ing  themselves  delightfully  comfortable,  having 
tailored  already  the  stolen  robes  into  garments 
worn  on  their  backs.  By  searching,  the  cooking 
utensils,  and  other  articles  stolen  from  the  brig 
but  not  missed,  were  found. 

The  white  officers  of  the  law  acted  promptly, 


72  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

as  became  their  dignity.  They  stripped  the  women 
of  these  stolen  goods  and  tied  them.  They  were 
then  loaded  with  all  the  articles  stolen,  to  which 
was  added  as  much  walrus  meat  of  their  own  as 
would  pay  their  jail  fees.  The  three  were  then 
marched  peremptorily  back  to  the  brig;  though 
it  was  thirty  miles  they  did  not  complain,  neither 
did  their  police  guardians  in  walking  the  twice 
thirty.  It  was  scarcely  twenty-four  hours  after 
these  thieves  had  left  the  brig  with  their  booty 
before  they  were  prisoners  in  the  hold.  "  A  dread 
ful  white  man  "  was  placed  over  them  as  keeper, 
who  never  spoke  to  them  except  in  words  of  terri 
fying  reproof,  and  whose  scowl  exhibited  a  studied 
variety  of  threatening  and  satanic  expressions. 
The  women  were  deprived  of  the  comfort  of  even 
Myouk's  company.  He  was  dispatched  to  Metek, 
"  head-man  of  Etah  and  others,"  "  with  the  mes 
sage  of  a  melo-dramatic  tyrant,"  to  negotiate  for 
their  ransom.  For  five  long  days  the  women  sighed 
and  cried,  and  sung  in  solitary  confinement,  though 
their  appetites  continued  excellent.  At  last  the 
great  Metek  and  another  Esquimo  notable  arrived, 
drawing  quite  a  sledge  load  of  returned  stolen 
goods.  Now  commenced  the  treaty  making.  There 
were  ubig  talks,"  and  a  display  on  the  part  of  Dr. 
Kane  of  the  splendors  and  resources  of  his  capital, 
its  arts  and  sciences,  not  forgetting  the  "fire- 
death,"  whose  terrific  power  so  amazed  the  Etah 
dignitaries.  On  the  part  of  the  Esquimo  there 
were  many  adjournments  of  the  diplomatic  con 
ferences  to  eat  and  sleep.  This  was  well  for  the 


Treaty  Making.  73 

explorers  no  doubt,  as  plenty  of  sleep  and  a  good 
dinner  are  very  pacific,  it  is  well  known,  in  their 
influence  even  on  savages.  In  the  final  result 
the  Esquimo  agreed :  Not  to  steal,  to  bring  fresh 
meat,  to  sell  or  lend  dogs,  to  attend  the  white  men 
when  desired,  and  to  show  them  where  to  find  the 
game.  On  the  part  of  Kablunah  (the  white  men) 
Dr.  Kane  promised  :  Not  to  visit  the  Inuit  (Esqui 
mo)  with  death  or  sorcery ;  to  shoot  for  them  on 
the  hunt ;  to  welcome  them  on  board  the  ship ; 
to  give  them  presents  of  needles,  pins,  two  kinds 
of  knives,  a  hoop,  three  bits  of  hard  wood,  some 
kinds  of  fat,  an  awl,  and  some  sewing-thread ;  to 
trade  with  them  of  these,  and  all  other  things  they 
might  want,  for  walrus  and  seal  meat  of  the  first 
quality. 

Dr.  Kane  sent  Hans  and  Morton  to  Etah,  on 
the  return  of  Metek,  as  his  representatives,  and  this 
treaty  was  there  ratified  in  a  full  assembly  of  its 
people. 

This  treaty  was  really  of  much  importance  to 
the  famishing,  ice-bound,  scurvy-smitten  strangers. 
It  was  faithfully  kept  on  the  part  of  the  natives,  but 
it  was  believed  that  the  example  of  the  white  man's 
prodigious  power  given  by  Morton  and  Riley,  in 
the  tramp  of  sixty  miles  in  twenty-four  hours,  had 
quite  as  much  to  do  with  its  faithful  observance 
as  any  regard  to  their  promise.  They  might  not 
understand  the  binding  nature  of  promises  how 
ever  solemnly  made,  but  they  could  comprehend 
the  meaning  of  strong  arms  and  swift  feet. 

Having  made  peace  with  the  Etahites,  Dr.  Kane 


. 

74  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES: 

sent  M'Gary  and  Morton  to  the  hut  at  Anoatok 
on  a  like  errand.  They  found  there  of  men,  My- 
ouk,  Ootuniah,  and  Awatok — Seal  Bladder — who 
were  at  first  shy.  The  rogue,  Myouk,  suspected 
their  visit  might  mean  to  him  another  arrest.  See 
ing  it  :d«f  not,  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage-bell. 
The  treaty  was  ratified  by  acclamation. 


Arctic  Hunting.  75 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ARCTIC     HUNTING. 

EARLY  in  October  the  Esquimo  disappeared 
from  the  range  of  travel  from  the  brig. 
Hans  and  Hickey  were  sent  to  the  hunting  grounds, 
and  they  returned  with  the  unwelcome  news,  no 
walrus,  no  Esquimo.  Where  could  they  have 
gone?  Were  they  hovering  on  the  track  of  the  es 
caping  party  under  Dr.  Hayes  ?  and  where  were 
these  ?  Would  the  natives  return  from  atrip  south, 
and  bring  any  news  of  the  battle  they  were  fight 
ing  with  the  ice  and  cold  ? 

While  such  queries  may  have  been  indulged  by 
the  brig  party,  they  had  serious  thoughts  concern 
ing  their  own  condition.  Their  fresh  provisions 
were  nearly  exhausted.  Without  walrus  or  bear 
meat,  their  old  enemy,  scurvy,  would  come  down 
upon  them  like  an  armed  man.  There  was  now 
plainly  another  occasion  for  one  of  those  acci 
dental  occurrences,  through  which  the  eye  of  a 
devout  Christian  sees  God's  kind  hand.  In  the. 
midst  of  these  painful  thoughts  the  shout  by  Hans 
was  heard  ringing  through  the  brig :  "  Nannook  ! 
nannook !  " 

"  A  bear !  a  bear !  "  chimed  in  Morton. 

The  men   seized   their  guns  and  ran  on  deck. 
The   dogs  were  already   in  battle  array  with  the 


76  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

bear,  which  was  attended  by  a  five-months-old 
cub.  Not  a  gun  was  in  readiness  on  the  instant, 
and  while  they  were  being  loaded  the  canines 
were  having  rough  sport  with  bruin.  Tudla,  a 
champion  fighter,  had  been  seized  twice  by  the 
nape  of  his  neck,  and  made  to  travel  several  yards 
without  touching  the  ground.  Jenny,  a  favorite 
in  the  sledge,  had  made  a  grand  somerset  by  a 
slight  jerk  of  the  head  of  the  bear,  and  had 
alighted  senseless.  Old  Whitey,  brave  but  not 
bear-wise,  had  rushed  headlong  into  the  combat, 
and  was  yelping  his  utter  dissatisfaction  with  the 
result  while  stretched  helpless  upon  the  snow. 
Nannook  considered  the  field  of  battle  already 
won,  and  proceeded,  as  victors  have  always  done, 
to  a  very  cool  investigation  of  the  spoils.  "She 
first  turned  over  a  beef  barrel,  and  began  to  nose 
out  the  choice  bits  for  herself  and  child.  But 
there  was  a  party  interested  in  this  operation  whom 
she  had  not  consulted.  Their  first  protest  was  in 
the  form  of  a  pistol  ball  in  the  side  of  her  cub. 
This,  to  say  the  least,  was  rather  a  harsh  beginning. 
The  next  hint  was  a  rifle  ball  in  the  side  of  the 
mother,  which  she  resented  by  taking  her  child 
between  her  hind  legs  and  retreating  behind  the 
beef-house.  Here,  with  her  strong  forearms,  she 
pulled  down  three  solid  rows  of  beef  barrels  which 
made  one  wall  of  the  house.  She  then  mounted 
the  rubbish,  seized  a  half  barrel  of  herring  with 
her  teeth,  and  with  it  beat  a  retreat.  Turning  her 
back  on  the  enemy  was  not  safe,  for  she  immedi 
ately  received,  at  half  pistol  range,  six  buck  shots 


Arctic  Hunting.  77 

She  fell,  but  was  instantly  on  her  feet  again,  trot 
ting  off  with  her  cub  under  her  nose.  She  would 
have  escaped  after  all  but  for  two  of  the  dogs. 
These  belonged  to  the  immediate  region,  and  had 
been  trained  for  the  bear  hunt.  They  embar 
rassed  her  speed  but  did  not  attack  her.  One 
would  run  along  ahead  of  her,  so  near  as  to  pro 
voke  the  bear  to  attempt  to  catch  him,  and  then 
he  would  give  her  a  useless  chase  to  the  right  or 
left,  the  other  one,  at  the  right  moment,  making  a 
diversion  by  a  njp  in  her  rear.  So  coolly  and  sys 
tematically  was  this  done  that  poor  Nannook  was 
hindered  and  exhausted  without  being  able  to 
hurt  her  tormentors  in  the  least. 

This  game  of  the  dogs  brought  again  Dr.  Kane 
and  Hans  on  the  field  of  conflict.  They  found 
the  bear  still  holding  out  in  the  running  fight,  and 
making  good  speed  away  from  the  brig.  Two  rifle 
balls  brought  her  to  a  stand-still.  She  faced 
about,  took  her  little  one  between  her  fore  legs, 
and  growled  defiance.  It  took  six  more  balls  to 
lay  her  lifeless  on  the  blood-stained  snow ! 

This  method  of  conquering  the  foe  was  no  doubt, 
from  the  bear  point  of  view,  mean  and  cowardly ; 
instead  of  the  hand-to-paw  fight,  recognized  as  the 
Arctic  lawful  way  of  fighting,  it  was  sending  fire- 
death  at  a  safe  distance  for  the  attacking  party. 
With  her  own  chosen  weapons — two  powerful  arms, 
and  a  set  of  almost  resistless  teeth — the  bear  was 
the  stronger  party.  But  then  it  was  the  old  game 
of  brains  against  brute  force,  with  the  almost  sure 
result.  As  to  the  cruelty,  the  bear  had  no  reason 


78  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

to  complain.  She  came  to  the  brig  seeking,  if 
haply  she  might  find,  a  man,  or  men,  to  appease 
her  craving  hunger  and  feed  her  child.  The  men 
sought  and  obtained  her  life  that  they  might  stay 
the  progress  of  their  bitter  enemy,  the  scurvy,  and 
save  their  own  lives  ! 

When  the  mother  fell,  her  child  sprung  upon 
her  body  and  made  a  fierce  defense.  After  much 
trouble,  and,  we  should  think,  some  danger  from 
her  paws  and  teeth,  both  of  which  she  used  as  if 
trained  for  the  fight,  she  was  caught  with  a  line 
looped  into  a  running  knot  between  her  jaws  and 
the  back  of  her  head,  somewhat  as  farmers  catch 
hogs  for  the  slaughter.  She  was  marched  off  to 
the  brig  and  chained  outside,  causing  a  great  up 
roar  among  the  dogs. 

The  mother-bear's  carcass  weighed  when  cleaned 
three  hundred  pounds ;  before  dressing,  the  body 
weighed  six  hundred  and  fifty.  The  little  one 
weighed  on  her  feet  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
pounds.  They  both  proved  most  savory  meat, 
and  were  eaten  with  gratitude,  as  the  special  gifts 
of  the  great  Giver. 

This  bear  capture  was  soon  followed  by  one  no 
less  exciting  and  truly  Arctic  in  its  character.  It 
was  the  hunt  and  capture  of  a  walrus,  the  lion  of 
the  sea,  as  the  bear  is  the  tiger  of  the  ice.  The 
story  is  as  follows  : — 

About  the  middle  of  October  Morton  and  Hans 
were  sent  again  to  try  to  find  the  Esquimo. 
They  reached  on  the  fourth  day  a  little  village  be 
yond  Anoatok,  seventy  miles  from  the  brig.  Here 


Arctic  Hunting.  79 

they  found  four  huts,  two  occupied  and  two  for 
saken.  In  one  was  Myouk,  his  parents  and  his 
brother  and  sister ;  in  the  other  was  Awahtok, 
Ootuniah,  their  wives,  and  three  young  children. 
The  strangers  were  made  to  feel  at  home.  Their 
moccasins  were  dried,  their  feet  rubbed,  two  lamps 
set  ablaze  to  cook  them  a  supper,  and  a  walrus  skin 
spread  on  the  raised  floor  for  them  to  stretch  and 
rest  their  weary  limbs.  The  lamps  and  the  addi 
tion  to  the  huts'  company  sent  the  thermometer 
up  to  ninety  degrees  above  zero,  while  outside  it 
was  thirty  below.  The  natives  endured  this  de 
gree  of  heat  finely,  as  the  men  and  children  wore 
only  the  apparel  nature  gave  them,  and  the  women 
made  only  a  slight,  but  becoming,  addition  to  it. 
The  strangers  after  devouring  six  small  sea-birds 
a  piece  enjoyed  a  night  of  profuse  perspiration 
and  sound  sleep. 

.  In  the  morning  Morton  perceived  that  Myouk 
and  his  father  were  preparing  for  a  walrus  hunt, 
and  he  cordially  invited  himself  and  Hans  to  go 
with  them.  The  two  strangers  accepted  the  in 
vitation  thus  given,  and  the  party  of  four  were 
soon  off. 

A  large  size  walrus  is  eighteen  feet  long,  with  a 
tusk  thirty  inches.  His  whole  development  is 
elephantine,  and  his  look  grim  and  ferocious. 

The  Esquimo  of  this  party  carried  three  sledges ; 
one  they  hid  under  the  snow  and  ice  on  the  way, 
and  the  other  two  were  carried  to  the  hunting 
ground  at  the  open  water,  about  ten  miles  from 
the  huts.  They  had  nine  dogs  to  these  two 


80  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

sledges,  and  by  turns  one  man  rode  while  the  oth 
er  walked. 

As  they  neared  the  new  ice,  and  saw  by  the 
murky  fog  that  the  open  water  was  near,  the  Es- 
quimo  removed  their  hoods  and  listened.  After  a 
while  Myouk's  countenance  showed  that  the  wished- 
for  sound  had  entered  his  ear,  though  Morton,  as 
attentively  listening,  could  hear  nothing.  Soon 
they  were  startled  by  the  bellowing  of  a  walrus 
bull ;  the  noise,  round  and  full,  was  something  be 
tween  the  mooing  of  a  cow  and  the  deep  baying 
of  a  mastiff,  varied  by  an  oft-repeated  quick  bark. 
The  performer  was  evidently  pleased  with  his  own 
music,  for  it  continued  without  cessation  while 
our  hunters  crept  forward  stealthily  in  single  file. 
When  within  half  a  mile  of  some  discolored 
spots  showing  very  thin  ice  surrounded  by  that 
which  was  thicker,  they  scattered,  and  each  man 
crawled  toward  a  separate  pool,  Morton  on  his 
hands  and  knees  following  Myouk.  Soon  the 
walruses  were  in  sight.  They  were  five  in  number, 
at  times  rising  altogether  out  of  the  deep,  break 
ing  the  ice  and  giving  an  explosive  puff  which 
might  have  been  heard,  through  the  thin,  clear  at 
mosphere,  a  mile  away.  Two  grim-looking  males 
were  noticeable  as  the  leaders  of  the  group. 

Now  came  the  fight  between  Myouk,  the  crafty, 
expert  hunter,  and  a  strong,  maddened,  persistent 
walrus.  Morton  was  the  interested  looker-on,  fol 
lowing  the  hunter  like  a  shadow,  ready,  if  it  had 
been  wanted,  to  put  in  his  contribution  to  the 
fight  in  the  form  of  a  rifle-ball.  When  the 


Walruses — A   Family    Party. 


Arctic  Hunting.  83 

walrus's  head  is  above  water,  and  peering  curiously 
around,  the  hunter  is  flat  and  still.  As  the  head 
begins  to  disappear  in  the  deep  he  is  up  and  stir 
ring,  and  ready  to  dart  toward  the  game.  From 
his  hiding-place  behind  a  projecting  ice  knoll  the 
hunter  seems  not  only  to  know  when  his  victim 
will  return,  but  where  he  will  rise.  In  this  way, 
hiding  and  darting  forward,  Myouk,  with  Morton 
at  his  heels,  approaches  the  pool  near  the  edge 
of  which  the  walruses  are  at  play.  Now  the  stolid 
face  of  Myouk  glows  with  animation ;  he  lies  still, 
biding  his  time,  a  coil  of  walrus  hide  many  yards 
in  length  lying  at  his  side.  He  quickly  slips  one 
end  of  the  line  into  an  iron  barb,  holding  the  other, 
the  looped  end,  in  his  hand,  and  fixes  the  barb  to 
a  locket  on  the  end  of  a  shaft  made  of  a  unicorn's 
horn.  Now  the  water  is  in  motion,  and  only 
twelve  feet  from  him  the  walrus  rises,  puffing  with 
pent  up  respiration,  and  looks  grimly  and  compla 
cently  around.  What  need  he  fear,  the  mighty 
monarch  of  the  Arctic  sea !  Myouk  coolly,  slowly 
rises,  throws  back  his  right  arm,  while  his  left  arm 
lies  close  to  his  side.  The  walrus  looks  round 
again  and  shakes  his  dripping  head.  Up  goes  the 
hunter's  left  arm.  His  victim  rises  breast-high  to 
give  one  curious  look  before  he  plunges,  and  the 
swift,  barbed  shaft  is  buried  in  his  vitals  !  In  an 
instant  the  walrus  is  down,  down  in  the  deep,  while 
Myouk  is  making  his  best  speed  from  the  battle 
field,  holding  firmly  the  looped  end  of  his  har-. 
poon-line,  at  the  same  time  paying  out  the  coil  as 
he  runs.  He  has  snatched  up  and  carries  in  one 


84  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

hand  a  small  stick  of  bone  rudely  pointed  with 
iron ;  he  stops,  drives  it  into  the  ice  and  fastens 
his  line  to  it,  pressing  it  to  the  ice  with  his 
foot. 

Now  commence  the  frantic  struggles  of  the 
wounded  walrus.  Myouk  keeps  his  station,  now 
letting  out  his  line,  and  then  drawing  it  in.  His 
victim,  rising  out  of  the  water,  endeavors  to  throw 
himself  upon  the  ice,  as  if  to  rush  at  his  tormenter. 
The  ice  breaks  under  his  great  weight,  and  he 
"roars  fearfully  with  rage.  For  a  moment  all  is 
quiet.  The  hunter  knows  what  it  means,  and  he 
is  on  the  alert.  Crash  goes  the  ice,  and  up  come 
two  walrusses  only  a  few  yards  from  where  he 
stands ;  they  aimed  at  the  very  spot  but  will  do 
better  next  time.  But  when  the  game  comes  up 
where  he  last  saw  the  hunter  he  has  pulled  up  his 
stake  and  run  off,  line  in  hand,  and  fixed  it  as 
before,  but  in  a  new  direction.  This  play  goes 
on  until  the  wounded  beast  becomes  exhausted, 
and  is  approached  and  pierced  with  the  lance  by 
Myouk. 

Four  hours  this  fight  went  on,  the  walrus  re 
ceiving  seventy  lance  thrusts,  dangling  all  the 
while  at  the  end  of  the  line  with  the  cruel  har 
poon  fixed  in  his  body.  When  dying  at  last, 
hooked  by  his  tusk  to  the  margin  of  the  ice,  his 
female,  which  had  faithfully  followed  all  his  bloody 
fortune,  still  swam  at  his  side ;  she  retired  only 
when  her  spouse  was  dead,  and  she  herself  was 
pricked  by  the  lance. 

Morton   says    the    last    three   hours   wore    the 


Arctic  Hunting.  85 

4 

aspect  of  a  doubtful  battle.  He  witnessed  it  with 
breathless  interest. 

The  game  was,  by  a  sort  of  "  double  purchase," 
a  clever  contrivance  of  the  Esquimo,  drawn  upon 
the  ice  and  cut  up  at  leisure.  Its  weight  was  esti 
mated  at  seven  hundred  pounds. 

The  intestines  and  the  larger  part  of  the  car 
cass,  were  buried  in  the  crevices  of  an  iceberg — a 
splendid  ice-house !  Two  sledges  were  loaded 
with  the  remainder,  and  the  hunters  started  toward 
home.  As  they  came  near  the  village  the  women 
came  out  to  meet  them ;  the  shout  of  welcome 
brought  all  hands  with  their  knives.  Each  one 
having  his  portion  assigned,  according  to  a  well 
understood  Esquimo  rule,  the  evening  was  giv 
en  up  to  eating.  In  groups  of  two  or  three 
around  a  forty  pound  joint,  squatting  crook-legged, 
knife  i-n  hand,  they  cut,  ate,  and  slept,  and  cut  and 
ate  again.  Hans,  in  his  description  of  the  feast 
to  Dr.  Kane,  says:  "Why,  Cappen  Ken,  sir,  even 
the  children  ate  all  night  You  know  the  little 
two-year-old  that  Aroin  carried  in  her  hood — the 
one  that  bit  you  when  you  tickled  it?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  Cappen  Ken,  sir,  that  baby  cut  for  her 
self,  sir,  with  a  knife  made  out  of  an  iron  hoop, 
and  so  heavy  it  could  hardly  lift  it,  cut  and  ate, 
sir,  and  ate  and  cut,  as  long  as  I  looked  at  it." 

Morton  and  Hans  returned  to  the  brig  with  two 
hundred  pounds  of  walrus  meat  and  two  foxes,  to 
make  glad  the  hearts  of  their  comrades. 

Besides  these  Arctic  monsters  of  the  sea,  and 
0 


86  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

shaggy  prowlers  of  the  land  and  ice,  there  was 
another  sort  of  game,  requiring  a  different  kind 
of  hunting,  found  nearer  home. 

We  have  related  the  experiment,  a  year  before 
this,  of  the  explorers  with  the  rats.  They  had 
failed  to  smoke  them  out  by  a  villainous  com 
pound,  and,  as  the  experience  came  near  burning 
up  the  vessel,  it  was  not  repeated.  They  bred 
like  locusts  in  spite  of  the  darkness,  cold,  and 
short  rations,  and  went  every-vvhere — under  the 
stove,  into  the  steward's  drawers,  into  the  cush 
ions,  about  the  beds,  among  the  furs,  woolens,  and 
specimens  of  natural  history.  They  took  up  their 
abode  among  the  bedding  of  the  men  in  the  fore 
castle,  and  in  such  other  places  as  seemed  to  them 
cosy  and  comfortable.  When  their  rights  as  ten 
ants  were  disputed  they  fought  for  them  with 
boldness  and  skill. 

At  one  time  a  mother  rat  had  chosen  a  bear 
skin  mitten  as  a  homestead  for  herself  and  family 
of  little  ones.  Dr.  Kane  thrust  his  hand  into  it 
not  knowing  that  it  was  occupied,  and  received  a 
sharp  bite.  Of  course  his  hand  left  the  premises 
in  rather  quick  time,  and  before  he  could  suck  the 
blood  from  his  finger  the  family  had  disappeared, 
taking  their  home  with  them. 

Rhina,  a  brave  bear-dog,  which  had  come  out 
of  encounters  with  his  shaggy  majesty  with  special 
honors,  was  sent  down  into  the  citadel  of  the  rats. 
She  lay  down  with  composure  and  slept  for  a 
while.  But  the  vermin  gnawed  the  horny  skin 
of  her  paws,  nipped  her  on  this  side,  and  bit  her 


Arctic  Hunting.  87 

on  that,  and  dodged  into  their  hiding-places. 
They  were  so  many,  and  so  nimble,  that  poor 
Rhina  yelled  in  vexation  and  pain.  She  was  taken 
on  deck  to  her  kennel,  a  cowed  and  vanquished 
dog. 

Hans,  true  to  his  hunter's  propensity,  amused 
himself  during  the  dreary  hours  of  his  turn  on  the 
night  watch,  by  shooting  them  with  his  bow  and 
arrow.  Dr.  Kane  had  these  carefully  dressed  and 
made  into  a  soup,  of  which  he  educated  himself 
to  eat,  to  the  advantage  of  his  health.  No  other 
one  of  the  vessel's  company  cared  to  share  his 
pottage. 

Hans  had  one  competitor  in  this  "  small  deer  " 
hunting,  as  the  sailors  called  it.  Dr.  Kane  had 
caught  a  young  fox  alive,  and  domesticated  it  in 
the  cabin.  These  "  deer  "  were  not  quick  enough 
to  escape  his  nimble  feet  and  sharp  teeth.  But 
unfortunately  he  would  kill  only  when  and  what 
he  wanted  to  eat. 

December  came  in  gloomily.  Nearly  every  man 
was  down  with  the  scurvy.  The  necessary  work 
to  be  done  dragged  heavily.  The  courage  of  the 
little  company  was  severely  taxed  but  not  broken. 
But  where  were  the  escaping  party  under  Dr. 
Hayes?  Were  they  yet  dragging  painfully  over 
their  perilous  way  ?  were  they  safe  at  Upernavik  ? 
or  had  they  perished  ? 

While  such  queries  might  have  occupied  the 
thoughts  of  the  dwellers  in  the  "  Advance."  on 
the  seventh  of  the  month  Petersen  and  Bonsall 
of  that  party  returned ;  five  days  later  Dr.  Hayes 


88  NORTH- POLE  VOYAGES. 

arrived,  with  the  remainder  of  his  company. 
Their  adventures  had  been  marvelous,  and  their 
escape  wonderful.  It  will  be  a  pleasant  fancy  for 
us  to  consider  ourselves  as  sitting  down  in  the 
cabin  of  the  u  Advance,"  and  listening  to  their 
story  from  the  lips  of  one  of  their  party. 


The  Escaping  Party.  89 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE     ESCAPING     PARTY. 

HAVING,  as  has  been  seen,  provided  for  all 
the  contingencies  of  our  journey  as  well  as 
circumstances  permitted,  we  moved  slowly  down 
the  ice-foot  away  from  the  brig.  The  companions 
we  were  leaving  waved  us  a  silent  adieu.  A  strong 
resolution  gave  firmness  to  our  step,  but  our  way 
was  too  dark  and  perilous  for  lightness  of  heart. 
At  ten  miles  distance  we  should  reach  a  cape  near 
which  we  expected  to  find  open  water,  where  we 
could  exchange  the  heavy  work  of  dragging  the 
sledges  for  the  pleasanter  sailing  in  the  boat. 
This  we  reached  early  the  second  day.  But  here 
we  experienced  our  first  keen  disappointment. 
As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  was  only  ice.  Be 
fore  us,  a  thousand  miles  away,  was  Upernavik,  at 
which  we  aimed,  the  first  refuge  of  a  civilized  char 
acter  in  that  direction.  As  we  gazed  at  this  in 
tervening  frozen  wilderness  it  did  indeed  seem  afar 
off.  Yet  every  man  stood  firm  through  fourteen 
hours  of  toil  before  we  encamped,  facing  a  strong 
wind  and  occasional  gusts  of  snow.  After  this  the 
shelter  of  our  tent,  and  a  supper  of  cold  pork  and 
bread  with  hot  coffee,  made  us  almost  forget  the 
wind,  which  began  to  roar  like  a  tempest.  ' 
We  looked  out  in  the  morning,  after  a  good  night's 


go  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

rest,  hoping  to  see  the  broken  floe  fleeing  before 
the  gale,  giving  us  our  coveted  open  sea.  But  no 
change  had  taken  place.  We  had  no  resort  but  to 
weary  sledging.  We  carried  forward  our  freight 
in  small  parcels,  a  mile  on  our  journey,  finally 
bringing  up  the  boat. 

We  took  from  under  a  cliff  of  the  cape  the  boat 
"  Forlorn  Hope,"  which  Dr.  Kane  had  deposited 
there.  It  was  damaged  by  the  falling  of  a  stone  up 
on  it  from  a  considerable  height.  Petersen's  skill 
ful  mending  made  it  only  a  tolerable  affair.  Thus 
wearied  and  baffled  in  our  efforts  at  progress,  we 
returned  early  to  our  tent,  and  slept  soundly  until 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  we  were 
aroused  by  shouting  without.  It  came  from  three 
Esquimo,  a  boy  eighteen  years  old,  and  two  wom 
en.  The  boy  we  had  before  seen,  but  the  women 
were  strangers.  They  were  filthy  and  ragged— in 
fact  scarcely  clothed  at  all.  The  matted  hair  of  the 
women  was  tied  with  a  piece  of  leather  on  the  top 
of  the  head ;  the  boy's  hair  was  cut  square  across 
his  eyebrows.  One  of  the  women  carried  a  baby 
about  six  months  old.  It  was  thrust  naked,  feet 
foremost,  into  the  hood  of  her  jumper,  and  hung 
from  the  back  of  her  neck.  It  peered  innocently 
out  of  its  hiding-place,  like  a  little  chicken  from 
the  brooding  wing  of  its  mother. 

They  shivered  with  cold,  and  asked  for  fire  and 
food,  which  we  readily  gave  them,  and  they  were 
soon  off  down  the  coast  in  good  spirits. 

These  visitors  were  only  well  started  when  Hans 
rushed  into  our  camp,  excited  and  panting  for 


The  Escaping  Party.  91 

breath.  He  was  too  full  of  wrath  to  command  his 
poor  English,  and  he  rattled  away  to  Petersen  in 
his  own  language.  When  he  had  recovered  some 
what  his  breath,  we  caught  snatches  of  his  excla 
mations  as  he  turned  to  us  with,  "  Smit  Soun  Es- 
quimo  no  koot !  no  koot !  all  same  dog !  Steal  me 
bag  !  steal  Nalegak  buffalo." 

The  fact  finally  came  out  that  our  visitors  had 
been  to  the  brig  and  stolen,  among  other  things,  a 
wolf-skin  bag  and  a  small  buffalo  skin  belonging 
to  Hans,  presents  from  Dr.  Kane.  Hans  took  a 
lunch,  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  continued  his  run  after 
the  thieves. 

The  ice  had  now  given  way  a  little,  and  small 
leads  opened  near  us.  Loading  the  boat,  we  tried 
what  could  be  done  at  navigation.  But  the  water 
in  the  lead  soon  froze  over  and  became  too  thick 
for  boating,  while  yet  it  was  too  thin  for  sledging  ; 
so  after  trying  various  expedients  we  again  un 
loaded  the  boats  and  took  to  the  land-ice.  But 
this  was  too  sloping  for  the  sledges,  so  we  took 
our  cargo  in  small  parcels  on  our  backs,  carrying 
them  forward  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  finally  bring 
ing  the  sledges  and  ]?oat.  Bonsall  had,  on  one  of 
these  trips,  taken  a  keg  of  molasses  on  the  back  of 
his  neck,  grasping  the  two  ends  with  his  hands. 
This  was  an  awkward  position  in  which  to  com 
mand  his  footing  along  a  sideling,  icy  path.  His 
foot  slipped,  the  keg  shot  over  his  head,  and 
glided  down  into  the  sea.  Coffee  without  molasses 
was  not  pleasant  to  think  of,  and  then  it  was  two 
hours  after  our  day's  work  was  done  before  we 


92  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

could  find  even  water.  Our  supper  was  not  eaten 
and  we  ready  to  go  to  bed  until  ten.  We  slept  the 
better,  however,  from  hearing,  just  as  we  were  re 
tiring,  that  Bonsall  and  Godfrey  had  recovered 
the  keg  of  molasses  from  four  feet  of  water. 

The  next  morning  we  resolved  to  try  the  floe 
again.  It  was  plain  we  could  make  no  satisfac 
tory  progress  on  the  land-ice,  so  we  loaded  first 
the  small  sledge  and  run  it  safely  down  the  slippery 
slope.  Then  the  large  sledge,  "  Faith,"  was  packed 
with  our  more  valuable  articles.  Cautiously  it  was 
started,  men  in  the  rear  holding  it  back  by  ropes. 
But  the  foothold  of  the  men  beting  insecure,  they 
slipped,  lost  their  control  both  of  themselves  and 
the  sledge,  and  away  it  dashed.  The  ice  as  it 
reached  the  floe  was  thin  ;  first  one  runner  broke 
through,  now  both  have  gone  down ;  over  goes  the 
freight,  and  the  whole  is  plunged  into  the  water ! 
Fortunately  every  thing  floated.  A  part  of  our 
clothes  were  in  rubber  bags  and  was  kept  dry ; 
all  else  was  thoroughly  wet.  -No  great  damage 
was  done  except  in  one  case.  Petersen  had  a  bed 
of  eider-down,  in  which  he  wras  wont  snugly  to 
stow  himself  at  night.  When  moving  it  was  com 
pressed  into  a  ball  no  larger  than  his  head.  It 
was  a  nice  thing,  costing  forty  Danish  dollars.  It 
was,  of  course,  spoiled.  So  rueful  was  his  face 
that,  though  we  really  pitied  him,  we  could  not  re 
press  a  little  merriment  as  he  held  up  his  dripping 
treasure.  Seeing  a  smile  on  Dr.  Hayes's  face,  he 
hastily  rolled  it  up  into  a  wad,  and,  in  the  bitter 
ness  of  his  vexation,  hurled  it  among  the  rocks, 


The  Escaping  Party.  93 

muttering  something  in  Danish,  of  which  we  could 
detect  only  the  words  "  doctor  "  and  "  Satan." 

Our  situation  seemed  gloomy  enough.  The 
men's  courage  was  giving  way,  and  one  took  a 
final  leave  and  returned  to  the  "  Advance."  Yet 
we  pressed  forward  ;  we  were  not  long  in  readjust 
ing  the  load  of  the  "  Faith,"  and  met  with  no  fur 
ther  accident  during  the  day ;  but  our  fourteen 
hours  toil  left  us  six  more  hours  of  ice-travel  be 
fore  we  could  reach  what  seemed  to  be  a  long 
stretch  of  clear  sea. 

Hans  returned  from  his  pursuit,  having  over 
taken  the  thieves,  but  did  not  find  about  them  the 
stolen  goods.  He  proposed  to  remain  and  help 
us,  but  we  could  go  no  farther  that  night.  We 
encamped,  and  obtained  much  needed  rest  and 
sleep. 

We  were  awakened  at  midnight  to  a  new  and 
unexpected  discouragement.  M'Gary  and  Good- 
fellow  arrived  from  the  "  Advance "  bringing  a 
peremptory  order  from  Dr.  Kane  to  bring  back 
the  "  Faith."  We  could  not  understand  this.  We 
had  been  promised  its  use  until  we  reached  the 
open  sea.  We  had  only  one  other,  which  was  very 
poor  and  utterly  insufficient  for  our  pifrpose.  We 
were  sure  it  was  not  needed  at  the  brig ;  what 
could  the  order  mean?  But  there  it  was  in  black 
and  white,  so  we  delivered  it  up,  and  the  messen 
gers  returned  with  it  on  the  instant. 

This  journey  of  Goodfellow  and  M'Gary  was  a 
wonderful  exhibition  of  endurance.  They  had 
worked,  hard  all  day ;  having  eaten  supper,  they 


94  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

were  dispatched  with  the  message.  They  were 
back  to  the  brig  to  breakfast,  having  traveled  in 
all  to  and  fro  thirty  miles  without  food  or  rest. 

Our  sledging,  almost  insufferable  before,  was 
more  difficult  now.  Petersen  exhausted  his  skill 
in  improving  our  poor  sledge  with  little  success. 
We  made  about  six  miles  during  the  day,  gained 
the  land  at  the  head  of  Force  Bay,  and  pitched 
our  tent.  We  had  shipped  and  unshipped  our 
cargo,  and  had  experienced  the  usual  variety  of 
boating  and  sledging.  Several  of  us  had  broken 
through  the  ice  and  been  thoroughly  wet.  Old 
rheumatic  and  scurvy  complaints  renewed  their 
attacks  upon  the  men. 

While  the  supper  was  cooking,  three  of  the  offi 
cers  climbed  a  bluff  and  looked  out  upon  the  icy  sea. 
To  our  joy  they  reported  the  open  water  only  six 
miles  away.  With  a  good  sledge  we  could  reach 
it  in  one  day's  pull.  With  our  shaky  affair  it 
would  take  three.  Indeed,  it  seemed  a  hopeless 
task  to  make  at  all  six  miles  with  it.  Such  was 
the  situation  when  our  supper  was  eaten  and  we 
had  lain  down  to  sleep.  Its  solace  had  scarcely 
come  to  our  relief  when  Morton's  welcome  voice 
startled  us.  He  had  come  to  bring  back  the 
"Faith."  How  timely  !  And  then  he  brought  also 
a  satisfactory  explanation  of  its  being  taken  away. 
Dr.  Kane  had  been  informed  that  a  dissension 
existed  among  us,  and  that  the  sledge  was  not  in 
the  hands  of  the  officers.  The  next  morning  the 
good  sledge  "Faith"  was  loaded,  and  the  men, 
now  in  good  spirits,  made  fine  speed  toward  the 


The  Escaping  Party.  95 

open  sea.  Morton  pushed  on  after  the  thieves. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  he  returned  with  them.  He 
had  overtaken  them  where  they  had  halted  to  turn 
their  goods  into  clothing.  They  had  thrown  aside 
their  rags,  and  were  strutting  proudly  in  the  new 
garments  they  had  made  of  the  stolen  skins. 
Morton  soon  left,  with  his  prisoners,  to  return  to 
the  "Advance." 

We  did  not  reach  the  open  water  until  mid 
night.  Every  thing  was  now  put  on  board  the 
boat,  and  we  sailed  about  two  miles  and  drew  up 
against  Esquimo  Point,  pitched  our  tent  on  a 
grounded  ice-raft,  and  obtained  brief  rest. 

In  the  morning,  Riley,  who  had  been  sent  to  us 
for  that  purpose,  returned  to  the  "  Advance  "  with 
the  "  Faith."  We  packed  away  eight  men  and 
their  baggage  in  the  "  Forlorn  Hope."  It  was  an- 
ordinary  New  London  whale-boat  rigged  with  a 
mainsail,  foresail,  and  a  jib.  Her  cargo  and  pas 
sengers  on  this  occasion  brought  her  gunwale 
within  four  inches  of  the  water.  But  for  five 
miles  we  made  fine  progress.  Then  suddenly  the 
ice  closed  in  upon  us,  compelling  us  to  draw  the 
"  Hope  "  up  upon  a  solid  ice-raft,  where  we  en 
camped  for  the  night.  Near  was  a  stranded  berg 
from  which  we  obtained  a  good  supply  of  birds, 
of  which  we  ate  eight  for  supper. 

In  the  morning,  while  our  breakfast  was  cook 
ing,  the  ice  scattered  and  a  path  for  us  through 
the  sea  was  again  opened,  and  we  bore  away  joy 
ously  for  the  capes  of  "  Refuge  Harbor."  With 
varying  fortune,  we  passed  under  the  walls  of 


96  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Cape  Heatherton,  and  sighted  the  low  lands  of 
Life-boat  Bay.  There,  as  has  been  stated,  in 
August,  1853,  Dr.  Kane  left  a  Francis  metallic  life 
boat.  Could  we  reach  this  bay  and  possess  our 
selves  of  this  life -boat,  a  great  step  would  have 
been  taken,  we  thought,  toward  success.  For 
awhile  all  went  well ;  then  came  the  shout  from 
the  officer  on  the  lookout,  "  Ice  ahead !  "  We 
run  down  upon  it  before  a  spanking  breeze,  and 
got  into  the  bend  of  a  great  horseshoe,  while  seek 
ing  an  open  way  through  the  floe.  We  could  turn 
neither  to  the  right  nor  left,  and  we  were  too  deep 
in  the  water  to  attempt  to  lay-to.  The  waves 
rolled  higher  and  higher,  and  the  breeze  was  in 
creasing  to  a  tempest.  Our  cargo,  piled  above  the 
sides  of  the  boat,  left  no  room  to  handle  the  oars, 
if  they  had  been  of  any  use.  There  was  no  resort 
but  to  let  her  drive  against  the  floe.  John  sat  in 
the  stern,  steering-oar  in  hand  ;  Petersen  stood  on 
the  lookout  to  give  him  steering  orders ;  Bonsall 
and  Stephenson  stood  by  the  sails ;  the  rest  of  us, 
with  boat-hooks  and  poles,  stood  ready  to  "  fend 
off."  The  sails  were  so  drawn  up  as  to  take  the 
wind  out  of  them.  Petersen  directed  the  boat's 
head  toward  that  part  of  the  ice  which  seemed 
weakest,  and  on  we  bounded.  "  *  See  any  opening, 
Petersen  ! '  *  No  sir.'  An  anxious  five  minutes 
followed.  '  I  see  what  looks  like  a  lead.  We 
must  try  for  it.'  'Give  the  word,  Petersen.'  On 
flew  the  boat.  '  Let  her  fall  off  a  little— off !  Ease 
off  the  sheet — so — steady  !  A  little  more  off — so  ! 
Steady  there — steady  as  she  goes.'" 


The  Escaping  Party.  97 

Petersen,  cool  and  skillful,  was  running  us 
through  a  narrow  lead  which  brought  us  into  a 
small  opening  of  clear  water.  We  were  beginning 
to  think  that  we  should  get  through  the  pack 
when  he  shouted,  "  I  see  no  opening !  Tight 
every -where  !  Let  go  the  sheet !  Fend  off." 

Thump  went  the  boat  against  the  floe  !  But  the 
poles  and  boat-hooks,  in  strong,  steady  hands, 
broke  the  force  of  the  collision.  Out  sprang  every 
man  upon  the  ice. 

No  serious  damage  was  done  to  our  craft.  Our 
first  thought  was  that  we  were  in  a  safe,  ice-bound 
harbor.  But  no !  See,  the  floe  is  on  the  move  ! 
We  unshipped  the  cargo  in  haste,  and  drew  up  the 
"  Hope  "  out  of  the  way  of  the  nips.  The  stores 
were  next  removed  farther  from  the  water's  edge, 
the  spray  beginning  to  sprinkle  them.  The  whole 
pack  was  instantly  in  wild  confusion,  ice  smiting 
ice,  filling  the  air  with  dismal  sounds.  But  it  was 
a  moment  for  action^  not  of  moping  fear.  Our 
ice-raft  suddenly  separated,  the  crack  running  be 
tween  the  cargo  and  the  "  Hope  !  "  This  would 
not  do !  A  boat  without  a  cargo,  or  a  cargo  with 
out  a  boat,  were  neither  the  condition  of  things 
we  desired;  but  as  the  ice  bearing  the  boat  shot 
into  the  surging  water,  it  was  evident  no  human 
power  could  hinder  it.  Yet  divine  power,  could 
and  did  prevent  it — just  that  Hand  always  so  ready 
to  help  us  in  our  time  of  need,  and  seeming  now 
almost  visible.  The  boat's  raft,  after  whirling  in 
the  eddying  waters,  swung  round,  and  struck  one 
corner  of  ours.  In  a  minute  of  time  the  "  Hope  " 


98  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

was  run  off,  and  boat,  cargo,  and  men  were  once 
more  together. 

Soon  the  commotion  brought  down  a  heavy 
floe  against  that  on  which  we  had  taken  refuge, 
and  no  open  water  was  within  a  hundred  yards 
of  us 


A  Green  Spot.  99 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A     GREEN     SPOT. 

WE  seemed  now  to  be  in  a  safe  resting-place. 
Dr.  Hayes  and  Mr.  Bonsall,  accompanied 
by  John  and  Godfrey,  took  the  advantage  of  this 
security  to  go  in  search  of  the  life -boat,  which 
they  judged  was  not  more  than  two  miles  away. 

After  a  walk  over  the  floe  of  one  hour  they 
found  it.  It  had  not  been  disturbed,  and  the  arti 
cles  deposited  under  it  were  in  good  order.  There 
were,  besides  the  oars  and  sails,  two  barrels  of 
bread,  a  barrel  of  pork,  and  one  of  beef;  thirty 
pounds  of  rice,  thirty  pounds  of  sugar,  a  saucepan, 
an  empty  keg,  a  gallon  can  of  alcohol,  a  bale  of 
blankets,  an  ice  anchor,  an  ice  chisel,  a  gun,  a 
hatchet,  a  few  small  poles,  and  some  pieces  of  wood. 
They  took  of  these  a  barrel  of  bread,  the  saucepan 
filled  with  sugar,  a  small  quantity  of  rice,  the 
gun,  the  hatchet,  and  the  boat's  equipments.  They 
were  to  carry  this  cargo,  and  drag  the  life-boat, 
back  to  the  camp,  unless  a  fortunate  lead  should 
enable  them  to  take  to  the  boat. 

They  ascended  a  hill,  before  starting,  to  get  a 
view  of  the  present  state  of  the  fickle  ice.  All 
was  fast  in  the  direct  line  through  which  they 
came.  But,  a  mile  away,  washing  a  piece  of  the 
shore  of  Littleton  Island,  was  open  water.  They 


IOO  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

concluded  to  push  forward  in  that  direction,  and 
wait  the  coming  of  their  companions  in  the 
"  Hope." 

They  reached  this  open  water  in  six  hours — 
a  slow  march  of  one  mile — but  it  must  be  remem 
bered  that  they  had  to  carry  their  cargo,  piece  by 
piece,  then  go  back  and  draw  along  the  boat,  thus 
going  over  the  distance  many  times.  Besides, 
they  had  to  climb  the  hummocks  with  their  load, 
and  lower  it  down  the  other  side  and  tumble 
about  generally  over  the  rough  way. 

The  island  thus  reached  was  three  fourths  of  a 
mile  in  diameter.  They  landed  in  a  tumultuous 
sea,  which  only  a  life-boat  could  survive.  There 
was  no  good  hiding-place  from  the  storm,  which 
was  increasing.  They  were  completely  wet  by  the 
spray,  and  ready  to  faint  with  cold  and  hunger. 
In  a  crevice  of  the  rock  a  fire  was  kindled,  the 
saucepan  half  filled  with  sea  water,  and  an  eider 
duck  John  had  knocked  over  with  his  oar  was  put 
into  it  to  stew.  To  this  was  added  four  biscuit 
from  the  bread  barrel.  The  hot  meal  thus  cooked 
refreshed  them,  but  it  was  their  only  refreshment. 
Bonsall  and  Godfrey  crept  under  the  sail  taken 
from  the  boat,  and,  from  sheer  exhaustion,  fell 
asleep.  John  and  Dr.  Hayes  sought  warmth  in  a 
run  about  the  island.  Dr.  Hayes  wandered  to  a 
rocky  point,  which  commanded  a  view  of  the  chan 
nel  between  the  island  and  the  "  Hope."  He  watched 
every  object,  expecting  to  see  her  and  her  crew 
adrift.  He  had  not  watched  long  before  a  dark 
object  was  seen  upon  a  whirling  ice-raft.  After  a 


A   Green   Spot.  101 

close  and  careful  second  look,  he  saw  that  it  was 
John.  He  called  but  received  no  answer.  John's 
raft  now  touched  the  floe  and  away  he  went,  jump 
ing  the  fearful  cracks,  and  disappearing  in  the 
darkness.  What  could  inspire  so  reckless  an  ad 
venture  ?  Had  he  seen  the  "  Hope  "  in  peril,  and 
was  this  a  manly  effort  to  save  her  and  his  com 
rades  ?  He  was  going  in  the  direction  in  which  he 
had  left  them. 

Bonsall  and  Godfrey  were  soon  frozen  out  of 
their  comfortless  tent,  and  joined  Dr.  Hayes  on 
the  rocky  point.  They  took  places  of  observation 
a  short  distance  apart,  and  watched  with  intense 
anxiety  both  for  the  "  Hope  "  and  John.  The 
morning  came,  the  sea  grew  less  wild,  and  the 
wind  subsided,  but  nothing  was  seen  of  the 
boat. 

Leaving  Dr.  Hayes  and  his  party  thus  watching 
on  the  island,  we  will  glance  at  the  experience  of 
those  of  us  who  were  left  in  the  camp. 

Soon  after  they  left,  the  wind  and  the  waves 
played  free  and  wild.  The  spray  wet  our  clothes, 
buffaloes,  and  blankets,  as  it  flew  past  us  in  dense 
clouds.  Our  bread-bag,  wrapped  in  an  india  rub 
ber  cloth,  was  kept  dry.  We  pitched  our  tent  in 
the  safest  place  possible,  but  were  driven  out  by 
the  increasing  deluge  of  spray.  We  tried  to  cook 
our  supper,  but  the  water  put  out  the  lamp.  So  we 
obtained  for  thirty  hours  neither  rest  nor  a  warm 
meal.  Dry,  hard  bread  without  water,  was  our 
only  food.  Finally  the  floe  broke  up,  and,  hastily 
packing,  ourselves  and  stores  into  the  "  Hope,"  we 


IO2  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

went  scudding  through  the  leads,  earnestly  desir 
ing  but  scarcely  daring  to  hope  that  we  should  fall 
in  with  Dr.  Hayes  and  his  party.  As  we  ap 
proached  Littleton  Island  the  lead  closed,  and  the 
pack  for  a  moment  shut  us  in.  As  we  waited  and 
watched,  we  saw  a  dark  object  moving  over  the 
floe  in  the  misty  distance.  Had  we  been  on  the 
lookout  for  a  bear,  we  might  have  sent  a  bullet 
after  it  at  a  venture.  But  a  moment  only  inter 
vened  before  John,  nimbly  jumping  the  drifting 
ice-cakes,  sprung  into  the  boat !  He  brought  the 
welcome  news  of  the  whereabouts  of  our  compan 
ions  with  the  life-boat,  and  his  needed  help  in  our 
peril.  Soon  a  change  of  tide  brought  open  water, 
through  which,  with  all  sails  set,  we  bore  down  on 
the  island.  About  eight  o'clock  we  saw  Dr.  Hayes 
watching  for  our  coming  from  his  bleak,  rocky 
lookout. 

So  rough  was  the  sea  that  we  could  not  land,  but 
rowed  round  Cape  Ohlsen,  the  nearest  main-land, 
where  we  found  a  snug  harbor  with  a  low  beach. 
The  life-boat  and  her  crew  followed.  The  cargoes 
were  taken  from  the  boats,  and  they  were  hauled 
up.  From  a  little  stream  of  melted  snow  which 
trickled  down  the  hill-side  our  kettles  were  filled. 
The  camp  was  set  ablaze,  some  young  eiders  and 
a  burgomaster,  shot  just  before  we  landed,  were 
soon  cooked,  a  steaming  pot  of  coffee  served  up, 
and  we  talked  over  our  adventures  as  we  satisfied 
our  craving  hunger.  John  was  questioned  con 
cerning  his  wild  adventure.  He  had  not  seen  the 
"  Hope,"  nor  did  he  know  where  she  was.  But  he 


A  Green   Spot.  103 

was  concerned  about    her,  and  "  wanted  to  hunt 
her  up." 

After  dinner  we  set  ourselves  at  work,  preparing 
the  boats  for  a  renewed  voyage,  which  we  had 
some  reason  to  hope  would  be  one  of  fewer  inter 
ruptions.  The  "  Hope  "  was  repatched  and  calked 
by  Petersen.  A  mast  and  sail  was  put  into  the 
life-boat,  which  we  named  the  "  Ironsides."  The 
heavier  part  of  the  freight  was  put  on  board  the 
"  Hope,"  of  which  Petersen  took  command,  with 
Sontag,  George  Stephenson,  and  George  Whipple 
as  companions  and  helpers.  Dr.  Hayes  command 
ed  in  the  "  Ironsides,"  with  whom  was  Bonsall, 
John,  Blake,  and  William  Godfrey. 

Having  spread  our  sails  to  a  favoring  breeze,  we 
gave  three  cheers  and  bore  away  for  Cape  Alex 
ander,  about  fourteen  miles  distant.  As  we  sped 
onward  the  scene  was  delightful.  On  our  left  was 
Hartstene  Bay,  with  its  dark,  precipitous  shore 
line,  and  white  glacier  fields  in  the  background. 
The  outlines  of  Cape  Alexander  grew  clearer  over 
our  bows,  and  cheered  us  onward.  But  a  dark, 
threatening  cloud  crept  up  the  northern  sky,  send 
ing  after  us  an  increasing  breeze,  and  tipping  the 
waves  with  caps  of  snowy  whiteness.  The  storm- 
king  came  on  in  frequent  squalls,  giving  earnest  of 
his  wrath.  We  could  not  turn  back,  nor  did  such 
a  course  at  all  accord  with  our  wishes ;  nor  could 
we  run  toward  the  shore  on  the  left,  where  only 
frowning  rocks  awaited  us.  We  could  only  scud 
before  the  tempest  toward  Cape  Alexander,  come 
what  would.  The  wind  roared  louder  and  the 


io4  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

waves  rolled  higher,  yet  on  we  flew.  We  came 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  cape  unharmed.  Now 
the  current,  as  it  swept  swiftly  round  the  cape,  pro 
duced  a  "chopping  sea."  The  "Hope,"  being 
made  for  a  heavy  sea,  rounded  the  point  in  good 
style.  The  "  Ironsides  "  was  shorter,  stood  more 
out  of  the  water,  and  was,  therefore,  less  manage 
able.  John,  who  was  intrusted  with  the  steering- 
oar,  in  minding  the  business  of  Bonsall  and  God 
frey  instead  of  his  own,  let  it  fly  out  of  the  water, 
and  so  permitted  the  boat  to  come  round  broad 
side'  to  the  current.  Of  course  the  sea  broke  over 
us  at  its  pleasure,  filling  every  part  which  could 
be  filled  and  sinking  us  deep  in  the  water.  But 
for  its  metallic  structure  and  air-tight  apartment 
we  should  have  sunk ;  as  it  was  we  held  fast  to 
the  sides  and  mast  to  prevent  being  washed  over 
board,  and  thus  we  drifted  ingloriously  round  the 
cape. 

Here  we  found  our  consort,  ready  to  come  to 
our  assistance ;  but  as  the  water  was  smooth  under 
sheltering  land,  we  bailed  out  our  boat,  took  in  our 
sails,  unshipped  the  mast,  and  rowed  for  a  small 
rock  called  Sutherland's  Island,  hoping  to  find  a 
harbor.  But  we  found  none,  nor  was  it  safe  to 
land  anywhere  upon  the  island.  There  was  noth 
ing  to  do  but  to  pull  back  again  in  the  face  of  the 
wind.  The  men  were  weary  and  disheartened ; 
the  sun  had  set  and  it  was  growing  dark;  our 
clothes  were  frozen  and  unyielding  as  a  coat  of 
mail;  cutting  sleet  pelted  our  faces,  and  we  were 
often  compelled  to  lose  for  a  moment  part  of  what 


A  Green  Spot.  105 

we  had  with  such  toil  gained.  But  the  sheltering 
main-land  of  the  cape  was  at  last  gained,  and  we 
coasted  slowly  along  for  some  distance  looking  for 
a  haven.  We  finally  came  to  a  low  rocky  point, 
behind  which  lay  a  snug  little  harbor.  "A  harbor ! 
here  we  are  boys;  a  harbor!  "  shouted  the  lookout. 
The  men  responded  with  a  faint  cheer — they  were 
too  much  exhausted  for  "a  rouser." 

The  boats  were  unladen  and  drawn  upon  the 
land.  Every  thing  in  the  "  Ironsides  "  was  wet, 
but  the  stores  of  the  "  Hope  "  were  in  perfect  or 
der.  We  pitched  our  tent,  cooked  our  supper, 
and  lay  down  to  sleep.  The  sea  roared  angrily  as 
its  waves  broke  upon  the  rocky  coast,  and  the 
wind  howled  as  it  came  rushing  down  the  hill-side ; 
but  they  did  but  lull  us  to  rest  as  we  slept  away 
our  weariness  arid  disappointment. 

Two  days  we  were  detained  in  this  place.  Once 
a  little  fox  peered  at  us  from  the  edge  of  the  cliff, 
which  set  our  men  upon  a  fruitless  hunt  for  either 
his  curious  little  self  or  some  of  his  kindred.  We 
greatly  desired  a  fox  stew,  but  fox  cunning  was 
too  much  for  us. 

We  started  for  Northumberland  Island  on  the 
eighth  of  September.  To  reach  it  we  must  pass 
through  a  wide  expanse  of  sea  which  was  now 
clear ;  not  a  berg  greeted  our  vision,  no  fragments 
of  drifting  ice-packs  met  our  sight.  The  wind 
was  nearly  "  after  us,"  and  the  boats  glided  through 
the  waves  as  gloriously  as  if  carrying  a  picnic 
party  in  our  own  home  waters.  The  spirits  of  the 
men  run  over  with  glee.  "Isn't  this  glorious?" 


106  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

cried  Whipple  as  the  boats  came  near  enough  to 
gether  to  exchange  salutations ;  "  we  have  it  watch 
and  watch  about." 

"And  so  have  we,"  replied  Godfrey. 

"We're  shipping  a  galley  and  mean  to  have 
some  supper,"  shouted  Stephenson. 

"  And  we  have  got  ours  already !  "  exclaimed 
John.  "  Look  at  this  !  "  he  added,  flourishing  in 
the  air  a  pot  of  steaming  coffee. 

But  these  joys  were  emphatically  of  the  arctic 
kind,  which  are  in  themselves  prophecies  of  ill. 
Bergs  were  soon  seen  lifting  their  unwelcome 
heads  in  the  distance,  and  sending  through  the 
intervening  waters  their  tidings  of  evil.  Next 
came  long,  narrow  lines  of  ice ;  then  these  were 
united  together  by  a  thin,  recent  formation.  We 
were  now  compelled  to  dodge  about  to  find  open 
lanes.  Coming  to  a  full  stop,  the  officers  climbed 
an  iceberg  to  get  a  view  of  the  situation.  The 
pack  was  every-where,  though  in  no  direction  was 
it  without  narrow  runs  of  open  water.  Then  and 
there  they  were  compelled,  after  careful  consulta 
tion,  to  decide  a  question  deeply  concerning  our 
enterprise.  It  was  this  :  Should  we  take  the  outer 
passage,  or  the  one  lying  along  shore.  The  first 
would  afford  a  better  chance  of  open  water,  but  if 
this  failed  us,  as  it  was  even  likely  to  do  at  this  late 
season,  we  must  certainly  perish.  .  The  second  gave 
us  a  smaller  chance  of  boating,  but  some  chance 
to  live  if  it  failed.  But  we  were  on  a  desperate 
enterprise,  and  were  inclined  to  desperate  meas 
ures.  But  Petersen,  who  had  twenty  years'  experi- 


A  Green  Spot.  107 

ence  in  these  waters,  counseled  the  inner  route, 
and  by  his  counsel  the  officers  felt  bound  to  abide. 

While  this  consultation  was  going  on  the  sea 
became  calm,  and  the  boats  could  be  urged  only 
by  the  oars.  It  was  night  before  we  found  a  shel 
tered,  sloping  land  behind  a  projecting  rock.  The 
boats  were  anchored  in  the  usual  way —  by  taking 
out  their  loads  and  lifting  them  upon  the  land. 

The  tents  were  pitched  upon  a  terrace  a  few 
yards  above  the  boats.  This  terrace,  we  were  sur 
prised  to  find,  was  covered  with  a  green  sod,  full 
of  thrifty  vegetation.  The  sloping  hill-side  above 
had  the  same  greenness.  A  little  seeking  brought 
to  our  wondering  sight;  an  abundant  supply  of 
sorrel  and  "  cochlearia"  anti-scurvy  plants  which 
our  men  much  needed.  Some  of  the  men  soon 
.filled  their  caps  with  them.  A  fox  had  been  shot 
and  was  already  in  the  cook's  steaming  pot,  to 
which  a  good  supply  of  the  green  plants  was  added. 
Such  a  supper  as  we  had !  Nothing  like  it  had 
been  tasted  since  we  left  home !  Our  scurvy 
plague  spots  disappeared  before  its  wonderful 
healing  power.  The  men  became  as  hilarious  as 
boys  when  school  is  out.  They  reveled  and  rolled 
upon  the  green  arctic  carpet  like  young  calves  in 
a  newly  found  clover  field.  They  smoked  their 
pipes,  "spun  yarns,"  and  laughed  cheerily,  as  if 
their  lives  had  not  just  now  been  in  peril,  and  as 
if  no  imminent  dangers  lay  at  their  door.  Our 
camp  had  indeed  been  pitched  by  the  all-guiding 
Hand  in  a  goodly  place.  The  men  declared  on  re 
tiring  that  they  felt  the  healing  cochlearia  in  their 


io8  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

very  bones,  and  it  is  certain  that  we  all  felt  the 
glow  of  our  changed  condition  throughout  our 
whole  being. 

The  next  day  two  of  us  climbed  the  highest 
land  of  the  island  for  a  glance  at  our  situation. 
We  found  it  as  depressing  as  our  paradise  of  green 
ness  had  been  encouraging.  We  could  see  south 
ward  the  closed  ice-pack  for  twenty  miles,  and 
faint  indications  of  the  same  condition  of  the  sea 
could  be  discerned  for  twenty  more  miles. 

We  returned,  and  a  council  was  called  in  which 
all,  men  and  officers,  were  called  upon  freely  to 
discuss,  and  finally  to  decide  by  vote,  the  ques 
tion,  Shall  we  go  forward  or  attempt  to  return 
to  the  "Advance."  All  the  facts  so  far  as  known 
were  fairly  brought  out.  Upernavik  was  six 
hundred  miles  in  a  straight  line ;  the  brig  was 
four  hundred.  Dangers,  if  not  death,  were  every 
where,  yet  none  desponded.  Whipple,  or  "  Long 
George,"  as  his  messmates  called  him,  made  a  he 
roic  speech  which  expressed  the  feelings  of  all. 
He  exclaimed:  "  The  ice  can't  remain  long;  I'll 
bet  it  will  open  to-morrow.  The  winter  is  a  long 
way  off  yet.  If  we  have  such  luck  as  we  have  had 
since  leaving  Cape  Alexander,  we  shall  be  in 
Upernavik  in  two  weeks.  You  say  it  is  not  more 
than  six  hundred  miles  there  in  a  straight  line. 
We  have  food  for  that  time  and  fuel  for  a  week. 
Before  that's  gone  we'll  shoot  a  seal." 

We  voted  with  one  voice — "  Upernavik  or  noth 
ing."  The  decision  was  made. 


Netlik.  109 


CHAPTER    XII. 

NETLIK. 

WE  were  unwillingly  detained  on  the  island 
several  days  more.  During  the  detention 
we  were  visited  by  an  Esquimo,  who  came  most 
unexpectedly  upon  us.  His  name  was  Amalatok. 
He  had  been  at  the  ship  last  winter,  and  had  seen 
Dr.  Kane  in  his  August  trip.  His  dress  was  strik 
ingly  arctic — a  bird-skin  coat,  feathers  turned  in  ; 
bear-skin  pants,  hair  outward  ;  seal-skin  boots  ; 
and  dog-skin  stockings.  He  carried  in  his  hand 
two  sea  birds,  a  bladder  filled  with  oil,  some  half- 
putrid  walrus  flesh,  and  a  seal  thong.  He  sat 
down  on  a  rock  and  talked  with  animation.  While 
thus  engaged  he  twisted  the  neck  from  one  of  the 
birds,  inserted  the  fore-finger  of  his  right  hand 
under  the  skin  of  its  neck,  drew  it  down  its  back, 
and  thus  instantly  skinned  it.  Then  running  his 
long  thumb  nail  along  the  breastbone,  he  produced 
two  fine  fat  lumps  of  flesh,  which  he  offered  in  turn 
to  each  of  our  company.  These  were  politely  de 
clined,  to  his  great  disgust,  and  he  bolted  them 
down  himself,  sending  after  them  a  hearty  draught 
of  oil  from  the  bladder.  The  other  bird,  the  re 
maining  oil,  and  the  coil  of  seal-hide  we  purchased 
of  him  for  three  needles. 

Soon  after  Amalatok's  wife  came  up  with  a  boy 


no  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

— her  nephew.  The  woman  was  old,  and  exceed 
ingly  ugly  looking ;  the  boy  was  fine  looking,  wide 
awake,  and  thievish — we  watched  him  narrowly. 
In  the  evening  the  Esquimo  left  for  their  home 
on  the  easternly  side  of  the  island. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  fourteenth   of  Septem 
ber  we  left  the  island,  and   set  our  course   toward 
Cape  Parry.     The  sky  had  been  clear,  the  air  soft 
and  balmy,  and  the  open   sea  invited  us  onward. 
But  a  cold  mist  soon  settled  down  upon  us,  suc 
ceeded  by  a  curtain  of  snow,  shutting  out  all  land 
marks,  and  leaving  us   in   great  doubt  as  to  our 
course.     The  compass  refused  to  do  its  office,  the 
needle  remaining  where  it  was  placed.     We  struck 
into  an  ice-field  and  became  perfectly  bewildered. 
As  we  groped  about  we   struck  an   old    floating 
ice-island,  about  twelve  feet  square.     On  this  we 
crawled  and  pitched  our  tent.    The  cook  contrived, 
with  much  perseverance    and    delay,  to  light  the 
lamp,  melt  some  snow,  and  make  a  pot  of  coffee. 
This  warmed    and   encouraged    us.     But    as    the 
snow  fell  faster  and  faster,  we  could  not  unwrap 
our  bedding  without  getting  it  wet ;  so  we  huddled 
together  under  the  tent  to  keep  each  other  warm. 
None  slept,  and  the  night  wore  slowly  away  as  our 
ice-island  floated   we  knew   not  whither.     There 
was  great  occasion  for  despondency,  but  the  men 
were  wonderfully  cheerful.     Godfrey  sung  negro 
melodies  with  a  gusto ;  Petersen   told  the  stories 
of  his  boyhood  life  in  Copenhagen  and  Iceland  ; 
John  gave  items  of  a  "  runner's  "  life  in  San  Fran 
cisco  ;  Whipple  related   the  horrors  of  the  fore- 


Netlik.  1 1 1 

castle  of  a  Liverpool  packet ;  and  Bonsall  "  brought 
down  the  house  "  by  striking  up, 

"  Who  wouldn't  sell  his  farm  and  go  to  sea?" 

During  this  merriment  a  piece  of  our  raft  broke 
off,  and  came  near  plunging  two  of  the  men  into 
the  sea. 

The  morning  dawned  and  showed  the  dim  out 
lines  of  some  large  object  near  us,  whether  ice 
berg  or  land  we  could  not  tell.  Before  we  could 
well  make  it  out  we  were  near  a  sandy  beach  cov 
ered  with  bowlders.  We  tumbled  into  the  boats 
and  were  soon  ashgre.  As  we  landed,  Petersen's 
gun  brought  down  two  large  sea-fowl.  We  were 
in  a  little  time  high  on  the  land,  our  tent  pitched, 
and  all  but  John,  the  cook,  lay  down  in  the  dry, 
warm  buifalo-skins  and  slept  away  our  weariness. 
John  in  the  meantime  contended  through  six  long 
hours  with  the  wind,  which  put  out  his  lamp,  the 
snow,  which  wet  his  tinder  when  he  attempted  to 
relight  it,  and  the  cold,  which  froze  the  water  in 
the  kettle  during  the  delay,  as  well  as  chilled  his 
fingers  and  face,  and  cooked  us  at  last  a  supper 
of  sea- fowl  and  fox.  As  we  ate  with  appetites 
sharpened  by  a  fast  of  twenty-four  hours,  we  heard 
the  storm,  which  raged  fearfully,  with  thankful 
ness  for  our  timely  covert.  God,  and  not  our  wis 
dom,  had  brought  us  hither. 

When  the  morning  broke  we  learned  that  we 
had  drifted  far  up  Whale  Sound,  and  were  camped 
on  Herbert  Island.  After  a  little  delay  we  entered 
our  boats,  rowed  for  several  hours  through  "  the 


12  NOK  I  II    I'd  I      VM\   MiKS. 


•.hi  .h  "  the  -.now  had  <  nal.  .1  m  n  lln-  '.Imi,  ,  ami 
lli. -n  |pr<  ftding  "in  eanvas,  we  sailed  Im  tin-  main 

i  md      We   struck   the  coast    twenty  miles  above 

<  ' ape    Tarry. 

\\'e   had     ..  at  <  r  I  \    him-    In    jdam  e   at    nil!    Ml  Mat  i.  m 

b.i  fore  W(  he  ird  the  "  i  ini.  '  i  ini.  '  i  ini.  '  "  oi~  Ks- 

i  pi  iinn  vi  IK •(••;.       1 1  was  I  he   hailiii!',  <  i  y  ol    a  m  m  and 

n  boy  who  -  um-  i  iinnin"  i.>  MI.  ihore.     \\'ini.-  iv 

I.  i  tefl   I  all.  fd   wil  Ii   I  In-   man,   tin-   1  ••  >\    K  ampei  ,  .  1  .  iff 

The    man    was    K  a  h  1 1 1 1 1 1  a  h ,    "the     \  n ;  • .  •  I .  n  I ,       n  i 

priest  "I   hi  ,  1 1  ibe.       lie  had  I  >rrn,  a  .  \vd  I  br   i  erol- 

i. ,  i,  d.  M  tin  ihip  m  iin-  \\  Intel      1 i'-  stid  <he.  vil- 

>iil\    a   |hOI  I     dilt  ii"  ''     "p   'he    bay,  win  ae 

ilenty  »>f  biubi><  i  and  me  •!,  \\in<  h  we  might 

it   we  would  allow  him  to  enter  our  "  oomiak 

and  pilot  in  thin  ' 

While    we  WeW    talking  with    Kalnlnnah,  Ihr   boy 
had     .pie  ii  I     til.-    in   u    .    nl     nil  i     vial    fhiniii'h    tin-    vil 
(  m   i  ame    a    ti.mp  nl     men,  \vnim-n,   ami   ellil- 

dii-n.  rushing  Along  •!>.-  ihore^  md  throwing  then 

aim.  abiiiit,  ami  ihOUting  n"  iiil\,  \\illi  Imwlm;; 
dn- .  ai  tin  ii  hi-els.  'I'he  "Kabhinah"  and 
"()nmial.  "  \\lnli-  men  and  -.hip  had  00011  •""' 
they  \\  en-  h.i|tpy. 

\\  .       I. ml,     nn     l.n.iid      I.  alntnnah     limn     a    ro<  1;  v 
pni  nl ,  1 1.  Im  e   I  In-   i  i  n\\  d   •  mild    i  eai  h   il  ,  ami   pir.hed 

nil  ami  rowed  up  the  btj     <  >m    p  >  nengei   w  •  • 

d<  Ir-hl  e.|,    ha  \  im;     ne\  ei      before    voyaged     m    thil 

I  I       StOOd    up   "I     I'"'    bn.it     ami    <   .dh  -d    In   hi; 

i  a  i  \  i  n  i  r ,  i  .  1 1 1  n  I  i  \  i  m  n    who     i  a  n    .  1 1  >  i  e  a  .  I    <  >  I    US  QlOnfl 

iin-  ihore,  '  .,  Itiming,  "  See  me  !    ! 

\\  e    landed    in   :i   little  <  ««\ a-,   at    (he 


UJ 

we  pit.  hod  oni  lent  I'he  sail. MS  drew  up  the 
boat  over  tho  gentle  slope,  shouting.  "  1  leave  oh  !  " 
At  tin-,  the  natives  biokeont  ifttO  UtprOArioUl  ' 

ter.    Nothing  oi  ail  the  strange  ihouttand 

;ht    io  then     notioo    so  pleased    them.      They 
took  hold  ol    the  ropes  ,  of  the  boats,  and 

d  iwa|  .  "  i-c-u!    1-e  n  •    i  . 

thv  nearest  approach  they  could   make  to  the 

ml   ot    the  wluto  la,  es. 

\  short  distam  o  horn    the   boaeh.  on    tho    slope, 
••lood  the  ,Ttf///£W£#/— ~tWO   Ston,-    hnts  twenty  vaids 

.ip.ut        l'he\  \veie  surrounded  b\  ro<  ks  and  bo\\  1 
iloi  -.  looking  in, -u-    liko    tho  Imkim;  plaoos  of  \\ild 

.  than  thi  ol  men 

The  enteitamineni    given    us  b\  oin  no\\  friends 
was  most  eordial        V  YOU m*  woman  to  the 

valley  N  ith  a  troop  ol    bov.  and    ;.-i  '.  ,  at   hoi 
,uid    tilh-d    ,MII     kettles    \\ilh    watei        Kalntnnah''. 
\\  1 1 ,  •  1  M  ,  M  i :  \  1 1 1  u  .  o  a  I  a  n  d  a  :  •. ,  M  <  ,1 1  \  p  i  e  i '  e 

ot    li\  ei        I'he  hoil    at  oui  ,  an\  as 

\M,  k  hunp,  »uttorevl  and  slo\\  Iv  burnevl,  ami 

tho  >  :  Ughtei   ran  otl    and  brought  then  lamp 

ot    dnod  moss  .ind  seal  tat. 

We  gave  them    tome  ot    ,MH    siippov.  as  they  CX- 

iv,  led  oi  oourse  that  we  \\onid      rhej  made  \\ M 

faoos  at    tho  ootVee,    and    onl\   sipped  a  little;  bm 

1\  a  1  n  I  n  n  \  1 1      With      i  n  o  i  >  ~      > ; ' .  •  •  _ :  \  \ :  \       pe I' se  VCl'cd      and 

dianlv  freelv  ol   u       \\  o    passod   round    some  hard 

IM  .,  ml.  wlni  h    th.-\     did    not    regard  as   lood  until 
tlu'v   ->a\\    !!•<  oat    thorn         l'h,-\    thon    nibblrd    a\\     \. 
laM^Jnn:'.    and     nibbbn;-.     .nvhilr     until     thru 
seemed  to  bo  sote       I'he)    dun    thrust    them  into 


1 14  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

their  boots,  the  general  receptacles  of  curious 
things. 

After  supper  the  white  men  lighted  their  pipes. 
This  to  the  natives  was  the  crowning  wonder. 
They  stared  at  the  strangers,  and  then  looked 
knowingly  at  each  other.  The  solemn  faces  of 
the  smokers,  the  devout  look  which  they  gave  at 
the  ascending  smoke  from  their  mouths  as  it  curled 
upward,  impressed  the  Esquimo  that  this  was  a 
religious  ceremony.  They,  too,  preserved  a  be 
coming  gravity.  But  the  ludicrous  scene  was  too 
much  for  our  men,  and  their  faces  relaxed  into 
smiles.  This  was  a  signal  for  a  general  explosion. 
The  Esquimo  burst  into  loud  laughter,  springing 
to  their  feet  and  clapping  their  hands.  The  relig 
ious  meeting  was  over. 

The  "  Angekok,"  who  seemed  desirous  to  show 
his  people  that  he  could  do  any  thing  which  the 
strangers  could,  desired  to  be  allowed  to  smoke. 
We  gave  him  a  pipe,  and  directed  him  to  draw  in 
his  breath  with  all  his  might.  He  did  so,  and  was 
fully  satisfied  to  lay  the  pipe  down.  His  awful 
grimaces  brought  down  upon  him  shouts  and 
laughter  from  his  people. 

The  mimic  puffs,  and  the  poorly  executed  echoes 
of  the  sailors'  "  Heave-oh,"  went  merrily  round 
the  village. 

Having  established  good  feeling  between  our 
selves  and  the  Esquimo,  we  entered  upon  nego 
tiations  for  such  articles  of  food  as  they  could 
spare.  But  they  in  fact  had  only  a  small  supply. 
They  wanted,  of  course,  our  needles,  knives,  wood, 


Netlik.  115 

and  iron,  and  were  profuse  in  their  promises  of 
what  they  would  do,  but  their  game  was  in  the 
sea. 

It  was  midnight  before  the  Esquimo  retired 
and  we  lay  down  to  sleep.  Dr.  Hayes  and  Stephen- 
son  remained  on  guard,  for  our  very  plausible 
friends  were  not  to  be  trusted  where  any  thing 
could  be  stolen.  The  stars  twinkled  in  the  clear 
atmosphere  while  yet  the  twilight  hung  upon  the 
mountain,  and  all  nature  was  hushed  to  an  oppress 
ive  silence,  save  when  it  was  broken  by  the  sud 
den  outburst  of  laughter  from  the  Esquimo,  or  the 
cawing  of  a  solitary  raven. 

Leaving  Stephenson  on  guard,  Dr.  Hayes  walked 
toward  the  huts.  Kalutunah  hearing  his  foot 
steps  came  out  to  meet  him,  expressing  his  wel 
come  by  grinning  in  his  face  and  patting  his  back. 
The  huts  were  square  in  front  and  sloped  back  into 
the  hill.  They  were  entered  by  a  long  passage 
way — tossut — of  twelve  feet,  at  the  end  of  which 
was  an  ascent  into  the  hut  through  an  opening  in 
the  floor  near  the  front.  Into  this  the  chief  led 
the  way,  creeping  on  all  fours,  with  a  lighted  torch 
of  moss  saturated  with  fat.  Snarling  dogs  and 
half-grown  puppies  were  sleeping  in  this  narrow 
way,  who  naturally  resented  in  their  own  amiable 
way  this  midnight  disturbance.  Arriving  at  the 
upright  shaft,  the  chief  crowded  himself  aside  to 
let  .his  visitor  pass  in.  A  glare  of  light,  suffocating 
odors,  and  a  motley  sight,  greeted  the  doctor. 
Crowded  into  the  den,  on  a  raised  stone  bench 
around  three  sides,  were  human  beings  of  both 


u6  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

sexes,  and  of  all  ages.  They  huddled  together  still 
closer  to  make  room  for  the  stranger,  whom  they 
greeted  with  an  uproarious  laugh.  In  one  of  the 
front  corners,  on  a  raised-  stone  bench,  was  a 
mother-dog  with  a  family  of  puppies.  In  the  other 
corner  was  a  joint  of  meat.  The  whole  interior 
was  about  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and  five  and  a  half 
high.  The  walls  were  made  of  stone  and  the 
bones  of  animals,  and  chinked  with  moss.  They 
were  not  arched,  but  drawn  in  from  the  foundation, 
and  capped  above  with  slabs  of  slate-stone. 

The  doctor's  visit  was  one  of  curiosity,  but  the 
curiosity  of  the  Esquimo  in  reference  to  him  was 
more  intense  and  must  first  be  gratified.  They 
hung  upon  his  arms  and  legs  and  shoulders ;  they 
patted  him  on  the  back,  and  stroked  his  long 
beard,  which  to  these  beardless  people  was  a 
wonder.  The  woolen  clothes  puzzled  them,  and 
their  profoundest  thought  was  at  fault  in  deciding 
the  question  of  the  kind  of  animal  from  whose 
body  the  material  was  taken.  They  had  no  con 
ception  of  clothing  not  made  of  skins. 

The  boys'  hands  soon  found  their  way  into  the 
doctor's  pockets,  and  they  drew  out  a  pipe,  which 
passed  with  much  merriment  from  hand  to  hand, 
and  mouth  to  mouth. 

Kalutunah  drew  the  doctor's  knife  from  its 
sheath,  pressed  it  fondly  to  his  heart,  and  then 
with  a  mischievous  side  glance  stuck  it  into  his 
own  boot.  The  doctor  shook  his  head,  and  it  was 
returned  with  a  laugh  to  its  place.  A  dozen  times 
he  took  it  out,  hugged  it,  and  returned  it  to  its 


Netlik.  117 

place,  saying  beseechingly,  "  Me  !  me  !  give  me  !  " 
He  did  want  it  so  much  !  The  visitor's  pistol  was 
handled  with  great  caution  and  seriousness.  They 
had  been  given  a  hint  of  its  power  at  the  sea-shore, 
wheje  Bonsall  had  brought  a  large  sea-fowl  down 
into  their  midst  by  a  shot  from  his  gun. 

While  this  examination  of  the  doctor  was  going  on 
he  examined  more  closely  the  objects  about  him. 
There  was  a  window,  or  opening,  above  the  en 
trance,  over  which  dried  intestines,  sewed  togeth 
er,  were  stretched  to  let  in  light.  The  wall  was 
covered  with  seal  and  fox  skins  stretched  to 
dry. 

There  were  in  the  hut  three  families  and  one  or 
two  visitors,  in  all  eighteen  or  twenty  persons. 
The  female  head  of  each  family  was  attending  in 
different  parts  of  the  hut,  to  her  family  cooking. 
They  had  each  a  stone,  scooped  out  like  a  clam 
shell,  in  which  was  put  a  piece  of  moss  soaked  in 
blubber.  This  was  both  lamp  and  stove,  and  was 
kept  burning  by  feeding  with  fat.  Over  this  a 
stone  pot  was  hung  from  the  ceiling,  in  which  the 
food  was  kept  simmering.  These,  and  the  animal 
heat  of  the  inmates,  made  the  hut  intensely  warm. 
Seeing  the  white  man  panting  for  breath,  some 
boys  and  girls  laid  hold  of  his  clothes  to  strip  him, 
after  their  own  fashion.  This  act  of  Esquimo 
courtesy  he  declined.  They  then  urged  him  to 
eat,  and  he  answered,  "  Koyenuck" — I  thank  you — 
at  which  they  all  laughed.  Though  he  had  dreaded 
this  invitation,  he  did  not  think  it  good  policy  to 
declare  it.  A  young  girl  brought  him  the  con- 
8 


n8  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

tents  of  one  of  the  stone  pots  in  a  skin  dish,  first 
tasting  it  herself  to  see  if  it  was  too  hot. 

All  eyes  were  upon  the  visitor.  Not  to  take 
their  proffered  pottage  would  be  a  great  affront. 
To  him  the  dose  seemed  insufferable,  though  of 
necessity  to  be  taken.  Shutting  his  eyes,  and 
holding  his  nose,  he  bolted  it  down.  He  was  aft 
erward  informed  that  it  was  one  of  the  delicacies 
of  their  table,  made  by  boiling  together  blood,  oil, 
and  seal  intestines  ! 

After  thus  partaking  of  their  hospitality,  the  doc 
tor  left  the  Esquimo  quarters,  escorted  by  "  the 
Angekok  "  and  his  daughter. 

We  were  astir  at  dawn,  preparing  to  leave  this 
little  village  known  as  Netlik.  We  had  obtained  a 
valuable  addition  to  our  slender  store  of  blubber, 
and  a  few  pairs  of  fur  boots  and  mittens,  for  which 
we  amply  paid  them. 

Knowing  that  the  Esquimo  had  never  heard  of 
the  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet,"  and 
that  they  did  not  understand  well  the  law  of 
"  mine  "  and  "  thine,"  we  watched  them  closely  as 
our  stores  were  being  passed  into  the  boat.  When 
we  were  ready  to  push  off  it  was  ascertained  that 
the  hatchet  was  missing.  Petersen  openly  charged 
them,  as  they  stood  upon  the  shore,  with  the  theft. 
They  all  threw  up  their  hands  with  expressions  of 
injured  innocence.  "  My  people  never  steal !  "  ex 
claimed  the  affronted  chief. 

One  fellow  was  so  loud  in  his  protestations  of 
innocence  that  Petersen  suspected  him.  The 
Dane  approached  him  with  a  flash  of  anger  in  his 


Netlik.  1 19 

eye,  which  told  its  own  story.  The  Esquimo 
stepped  back,  stooped,  picked  up  the  hatchet,  on 
which  he  had  been  standing,  and  gave  it  to  Peter- 
sen  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  presented 
him  a  pair  of  mittens  as  a  peace-offering. 

We  pushed  off,  and  they  stood  shouting  upon 
the  beach  until  their  voices  died  away  in  the  dis 
tance  as  we  pulled  across  the  bay. 


120  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE     HUT. 

WE  now  made  for  Cape  Parry  with  all  speed, 
though  this  was  slow  speed.  The  young 
ice  which  covered  the  bay  was  too  old  for  us,  or, 
at  any  rate,  it  was  too  strong  for  easy  progress.  It 
was  sunset  when  we  reached  the  cape.  Beyond 
this  there  had  been  open  water  seen  by  us  for  many 
days  past,  from  the  elevated  points  of  observation 
which  we  had  sought.  From  this  point,  therefore, 
we  expected  free  sailing  southward,  and  rapid 
progress  toward  safety  and  our  homes.  But  here 
we  were  at  last  at  Cape  Parry  against  a  pack  which 
extended  far  southward.  In  our  desperation  we 
tried  to  force  the  boats  through.  The  "  Ironsides  " 
was  badly  battered,  and  the  "  Hope  "  made  sadly 
leaky  by  the  operation,  and  no  progress  was  made. 
We  then  pushed  slowly  down  the  shore  through  a 
lead,  and  having  gone  about  seven  -miles,  darkness 
and  the  ice  brought  us  to  a  stand,  and  we  drew  up 
for  the  night. 

In  the  morning  we  observed  a  lead  going  south 
from  the  shore  at  a  point  twelve  miles  distant. 
For  six  days,  bringing  us  to  the  twenty-seventh  of 
September,  we  fought  hard  to  reach  the  lead,  but 
failed.  We  could  now  neither  retreat  nor  go  for 
ward  .  Ice  and  snow  were  every-where.  The  sun 


The  Hut.  121 

was  running  low  in  the  heavens,  seeming  to  rise 
only  to  set ;  and  soon  the  night,  which  was  to  have 
no  sunrise  morning  until  February,  would  be  upon 
us.  Our  food  was  sufficient  for  not  more  than  two 
weeks,  and  our  fuel  of  blubber  for  the  lamp  only 
was  but  enough  for  eight  or  ten  days.  Our  con 
dition  seemed  almost  without  hope,  but  it  had  en 
tered  into  our  calculations  as  a  possible  contingen 
cy,  and  we  girded  ourselves  for  the  struggle  for 
life,  trusting  in  the  Great  Deliverer.-^g^s...^ 

We  were  about  sixteen  miles  below  Cape  Parry, 
and  about  midway  between  Whale  Sound  and 
Wolstenholme  Sound.  We  pitched  our  tent  thirty 
yards  from  the  sea  on  a  rocky  upland.  After  se 
curing  in  a  safe  place  the  boats  and  equipments, 
we  began  to  look  about  us  for  a  place  to  build  a 
hut.  It  was,  indeed,  a  dreary,  death-threatening 
region.  Time  was  too  pressing  for  us  to  think  of 
building  an  Esquimo  hut,  if,  indeed,  our  strength 
and  skill  was  sufficient. 

While  we  were  looking  round  and  debating  what 
to  build  and  where,  one  of  our  party  found  a  crev 
ice  in  a  rock.  This  crevice  ran  parallel^with  the 
coast,  and  was  opposite  to,  and  near,  the  landing. 
It  was  eight  feet  in  width,  and  level  on  the  bottom. 
The  rock  on  the  east  side  was  six  feet  high,  its  face 
smooth  and  perpendicular,  except  breaks  in  two 
places,  making  at  each  a  shelf.  On  the  other — 
the  ocean  side — the  wall  was  scarcely  four  feet 
high,  round  and  sloping ;  but  a  cleft  through  it 
made  an  opening  to  the  crevice  from  the  west. 

We  at  once  determined  to  make  our  hut  here, 


122  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

as  the  natural  walls  would  save  much  work  in  its 
construction.  The  only  material  to  be  thought  of 
was  rocks.  These  we  had  to  find  beneath  the 
snow,  and  then  loosen  them  from  the  grasp  of  the 
frost.  For  this  we  fortunately  had  an  ice-chisel 
— a  bar  of  iron  an  inch  in  diameter  and  four  feet 
long,  bent  at  one  end  for  a  handle,  and  tempered 
and  sharpened  at  the  other.  With  this  Bonsall 
loosened  the  rocks,  and  others  bore  them  on  their 
shoulders  to  the  crevice.  When  a  goodly  pile 
was  made  we  began  to  construct  the  walls.  In 
stead  of  mortar  we  had  sand  to  fill  in  between  the 
stones.  This  was  as  hard  to  obtain  as  the  stones 
themselves,  as  it  had  to  be  first  picked  to  pieces 
with  the  ice-chisel,  then  scooped  up  with  our  tin 
dinner  plates  into  cast-off  bread-bags,  and  thus 
borne  to  the  builders. 

This  work  was  done  by  four  of  us  only,  the 
other  four  being  engaged  in  hunting,  to  keep  away 
threatened  starvation.  In  two  days  our  walls  were 
up.  They  run  across  the  crevice,  that  is,  east  and 
west,  were  fourteen  feet  apart,  four  feet  high,  and 
three  thick.  The  natural  walls  being  eight  feet 
apart,  our  hut  was  thus  in  measurement  fourteen 
feet  by  eight.  The  entrance  was  through  the 
cleft,  from  the  ocean  side.  We  laid  across  the  top 
of  this  door-way  the  rudder  of  the  "  Hope,"  and 
erected  on  it  the  "  gable."  One  of  the  boat's 
masts  was  used  for  a  ridgepole,  and  the  oars  for 
rafters.  Over  these  we  laid  the  boats'  sails, 
drew  them  tightly,  and  secured  them  with  heavy 
stones.  Being  sadly  deficient  in  lumber,  Petersen 


The  Hut.  123 

constructed  a  door  of  light  frame-work  and  cov 
ered  it  with  canvas  ;  he  hung  it  on  an  angle,  so 
that  when  opened  it  shut  of  its  own  weight.  A 
place  was  left  for  a  window  over  the  door-way, 
across  which  we  drew  a  piece  of  old  muslin  well 
greased  with  blubber,  and  through  which  the  som 
ber  light  streamed  when  there  was  any  outside. 

We  then  endeavored  to  thatch  the  roof  and 
"  batten  "  the  cracks  every-where  with  moss.  But 
to  obtain  this  article  we  had  to  scour  the  country 
far  and  near,  dig  through  the  deep  snow,  having 
tin  dinner  plates  for  shovels,  wrench  it  from  the 
grip  of  the  frost  with  our  ice-chisel,  put  it  in  our 
bread-bags  and  "  back  it  "  home. 

In  four  days,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  our  hut 
assumed  a  homelike  appearance — at  least  home 
like  compared  with  our  present  quarters.  We 
said :  "  To-morrow  we  shall  move  into  it  and  be 
comparatively  comfortable.  "But  that  day  brought 
the  advance  force  of  a  terrific  storm  of  wind  and 
snow.  It  caught  some  of  us  three  miles  from  the 
tent.  We  huddled  together  in  our  thin  hemp  can 
vas  tent  and  slept  as  best  we  could.  Two  of  our 
company  crawled  out  in  the  morning  to  prepare 
our  scanty  meal.  They  found  the  hut  half  full  of 
snow,  which  had  sifted  through  the  crevices.  But 
they  brought  to  the  tent's  company  a  hot  break 
fast  after  some  hours'  toil ;  we  ate  and  our  spirits 
revived. 

We  tried  all  possible  expedients  to  pass  away 
the  time,  but  the  hours  moved  slowly.  The  storm 
continued  to  howl  and  roar  about  us  with  unceas- 


124  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

ing  fury  for  four  days.  Our  little  stock  of  food 
was  diminishing,  our  hut  was  unfinished,  and  win 
ter  was  upon  us  in  earnest.  Our  situation  was 
one  of  almost  unmitigated  misery. 

On  Friday,  October  sixth,  the  storm  subsided, 
and  nature  put  on  a  smiling  face.  We  renewed 
our  work  on  the  hut,  clearing  it  of  snow  with  our 
dinner-plate  shovels,  and  then,  under  greater  diffi 
culties  than  ever,  because  the  snow  was  deeper  and 
our  strength  less,  we  finished  it.  The  internal  ar 
rangements  were  as  follows  :  an  aisle  or  floor,  three 
feet  wide,  extended  from  the  door  across  the  hut. 
On  the  right,  as  one  entered,  was  a  raised  platform 
of  stone  and  sand  about  eighteen  inches  high. 
On  this  we  spread  our  skins  and  blankets.  Here 
five  of  us  were  to  sleep.  On  the  back  corner  of  the 
other  side  was  a  similar  platform,  or  "  breck  "  as 
the  Esquimo  would  call  it;  here  three  men  were 
to  sleep.  In  the  left-hand  corner,  near  the  door, 
Petersen  had  extemporized  a  stove  out  of  some 
tin  sheathing  torn  from  the  "  Hope,"  with  a  funnel 
of  the  same  material  running  out  of  the  roof.  This 
sort  of  fire-place  stove  held  two  lamps,  a  sauce 
pan,  and  kettle.  On  a  post  which  supported  the 
roof  hung  a  small  lamp. 

Into  this  hut  we  moved  October  ninth.  Com 
pared  with  the  tent  it  was  comfortable.  It  was 
evening  when  we  were  settled.  At  sundown  Pe 
tersen  came  in  with  eight  sea-fowl,  so  we  celebrated 
the  occasion  with  a  stew  of  fresh  game,  cooked  in 
our  stove  with  the  staves  of  our  blubber  kegs,  and 
we  added  to  our  meal  a  pot  of  hot  coffee. 


The  Hut.  12  5 

The  supper  done,  we  talked  by  the  dim  light  of 
our  moss  taper.  A  storm,  which  was  heralded 
during  the  day,  was  raging  without  in  full  force, 
burying  us  in  a  huge  snow-bank.  We  discussed 
calmly  our  duties  and  trials,  and  we  all  lay  down 
prayerfully  to  sleep. 

What  shall  we  do  now  ?  was  the  question  of  the 
morning.  Indeed,  it  was  the  continual  question. 
John  reported  our  stores  thus  :  "  There's  three 
quarters  of  a  small  barrel  of  bread,  a  capful  of 
meat  biscuit,  half  as  much  rice  and  flour,  a  double 
handful  of  lard — and  that's  all."  Our  vigilant 
hunting  thus  far  had  resulted  in  seventeen  small 
birds ;  that  was  all.  Some  of  us  had  tried  to  eat 
the  "  stone  moss,"  a  miserable  lichen  which  clung 
tenaciously  to  the  stones  beneath  the  snow.  But 
it  did  little  more  than  stop  for  awhile  the  gnawings 
of  hunger,  often  inducing  serious  illness  ;  yet  this 
seemed  our  only  resort. 

The  storm  still  raged.  We  were  all  reclining 
upon  the  brecks  except  John,  who  was  trying  to 
cook  by  a  fire  which  filled  our  hut  with  smoke, 
when  we  were  startled  by  a  strange  sound.  "  What 
is  it  ?  "  we  asked.  We  could  not  get  out,  so  we  list 
ened  at  the  window.  "It  was  the  wind,"  we  said, 
for  we  could  hear  nothing  more.  In  a  half  hour 
it  was  repeated  clearer  and  louder.  We  opened 
the  door  "by  drawing  the  snow  into  the  house, 
and  made  a  little  opening  through  the  drift 
so  we  could  see  daylight.  "  It  was  the  barking 
of  a  fox,"  says  one.  "No,"  said  another,  "it  was 
the  growling  of  a  bear."  Whipple,  who  was 


126  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

half  asleep,  muttered,  "  It  was  just  nothing  at 
all." 

While  these  remarks  were  being  made  the  Es- 
quimo  shout  was  clearly  recognized.  Petersen 
put  his  mouth  to  the  aperture  in  the  snow  and 
shouted,  "Huk  !  huk  !  huk  !  "  After  much  shout 
ing,  two  bewildered  Esquimo  entered  our  hut. 
They  were  from  Netlik,  the  village  we  had  last 
left,  and  one  was  Kalutunah.  Their  fur  dress 
had  a  thick  covering  of  snow,  and,  hardy  though 
they  were,  they  looked  weary  almost  to  faintness. 
They  each  held  in  one  hand  a  dog-whip,  and  in 
the  other  a  piece  of  meat  and  blubber.  They 
threw  down  the  food,  thrust  their  whip-stocks  un 
der  the  rafters,  hung  their  wet  outer  furs  upon 
them,  and  at  once  made  themselves  at  home.  The 
chief  hung  around  Dr.  Hayes,  saying  fondly, 
"  Doctee !  doctee  !  " 

John  put  out  his  smoking  fire,  at  the  Angekok's 
request,  and  used  his  blubber  in  cooking  a  good 
joint  of  the  bear  meat.  We  all  had  a  good  meal 
at  our  guests'  expense.  Necessity  was  more  than 
courtesy  with  hungry  men. 

While  the  cooking  and  eating  were  going  on,  we 
listened  to  the  marvelous  story  of  the  Esquimo. 
They  left  Netlik,  forty  miles  north,  the  morning  of 
the  previous  day  on  a  hunting  excursion  with  two 
dog-sledges.  The  storm  overtook  them  far  out 
upon  the  ice  in  search  of  bear,  and  they  sheltered 
themselves  in  a  snow  hut  for  the  night.  Fearing 
the  ice  might  break  up  they  turned  to  the  land, 
which  they  happened  to  strike  near  our  boats  and 


The  Hut.  127 

tent.  Knowing  we  must  be  near,  they  picketed 
their  dogs  under  a  sheltering  rock  and  commenced 
tramping  and  shouting. 

The  supper  eaten,  the  story  told,  and  the  curi 
osity  of  our  visitors  satisfied  in  closely  observing 
every  thing,  we  made  for  them  the  best  bed  pos 
sible,  tucked  them  in,  and  they  were  soon  snoring 
lustily. 

In  the  morning  we  tunneled  a  hole  from  our 
door  through  the  snow.  Kalutunah  and  Dr. 
Hayes  went  to  the  sea-shore.  The  dogs  were 
howling  piteously,  having  been  exposed  to  all  the 
fury  of  the  storm  during  the  night  without  the  lib 
erty  of  stirring  beyond  their  tethers.  Besides,  they 
had  been  forty-eight  hours  without  food,  having 
come  from  hom.e  in  that  time  through  a  widely 
deviating  track.  Every  thing  about  them  was 
carefully  secured  which  could  be  eaten,  and  they 
were  loosened. 

Dr.  Hayes  turned  toward  the  hut,  and  having 
reached  the  snow-tunnel  he  was  about  to  stoop 
down  to  crawl  through  it,  when  he  observed  the 
whole  pack  of  thirteen  snapping,  savage  brutes 
at  his  heels.  Had  he  been  on  his  knees  they 
would  have  made  at  once  a  meal  of  him.  They 
stood  at  bay  for  a  moment,  but  seeing  he  had  no 
means  of  attack,  one  of  them  commenced  the  as 
sault  by  springing  upon  him.  Dr.  Hayes  caught 
him  on  his  arm,  and  kicked  him  down  the  hill. 
This  caused  a  momentary  pause.  No  help  was 
near,  and  to  run  was  sure  death.  It  was  a  fearful 
moment,  and  his  blood  chilled  at  the  prospect  of 


128  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

dying  by  the  jaws  of  wolfish  dogs,  whose  fierce 
and  flashing  eyes  assured  him  that  hunger  had 
given  them  a  terrible  earnestness.  His  eye  im 
proved  the  moment's  respite  in  sweeping  the  circle 
of  the  enemy  for  the  means  of  escape,  and  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  a  dog-whip  about  ten  feet  off. 
Instantly  he  sprang  as  only  a  man  thus  situated 
could  spring,  and  clearing  the  back  of  the  largest 
of  the  dogs,  seized  the  whip.  He  was  now  mas 
ter  of  the  situation.  Never  amiable,  and  terribly 
savage  when  prompted  by  hunger,  yet  the  Esqui- 
mo  dog  is  always  a  coward.  Dr.  Hayes's  vigorous 
blows,  laid  on  at  right  and  left  with  much  effect 
and  more  sound  and  fury,  sent  the  pack  yelping 
away. 

In  our  discussions  of  the  question  of  subsist 
ence,  we  had  about  decided  that  we  must  draw 
our  supplies  from  the  Esquimo  or  perish.  Our 
hunting  was  a  failure,  and  our  supply  of  food  was 
about  exhausted.  So  when  Kalutunah  came  back 
we  proposed  to  him  through  Petersen  to  pur 
chase  blubber  and  bear  meat  with  our  treasures 
of  needles,  knives,  etc.,  so  valuable  in  the  eyes  of 
the  natives.  He  looked  at  our  sunken  cheeks  and 
desolate  home  with  a  knowing  twinkle  of  his  eye, 
and  a  crafty  expression  on  his  besotted  face.  This 
was  followed  by  the  questions,  *'  How  much  shoot 
with  mighty  guns  ?  how  much  food  you  bring  from 
ship  ?  "  These  questions,  and  the  speaking  eye  and 
tell-tale  face,  were  windows  through  which  we 
saw  into  the  workings  of  his  dark  heathen  mind. 
They  meant,  as  we  understood  them,  "  If  you  are 


The  Pint.  129 

going  to  starve  we  had  better  let  you.  We  shall 
then  get  your  nice  things  without  paying  for 
them." 

But  Petersen  understood  and  outmanaged  the 
crafty  chief. 

"  How  we  going  to  live? "  he  boldly  exclaimed, 
facing  the  questioner.  "  Live  !  Shoot  bear  when 
we  get  hungry,  sleep  when  we  get  tired ;  Esqui- 
mo  will  bring  us  bear,  we  shall  give  them  pres 
ents,  and  sleep  all  the  time.  White  man  easily  get 
plenty  to  eat.  Always  plenty  to  eat,  plenty  sleep." 

The  glory  of  life  from  the  Esquimo  point  of 
view  is  plenty  to  eat.  and  nothing  to  do.  They 
held  those  who  had  attained  to  this  high  estate  in 
profound  respect.  The  starving  could  scarcely  be 
brought  within  the  range  of  their  consideration. 
Hence  the  policy  adopted  by  Petersen,  and  it  had 
its  desired  effect.  Kalutunah  and  his  companion 
tarried  another  night,  and  departed  promising  to 
return  with  such  food  as  the  hunt  afforded,  and 
exchange  it  for  our  valuables. 

Two  weeks — days  of  misery — passed  before 
their  return.  We  set  fox-traps,  constructed  much 
after  the  style  of  the  rabbit-traps  of  the  boys  at 
home,  tramping  for  this  purpose  over  the  coast 
line  for  ten  miles.  One  little  prisoner  only  re 
warded  our  pains,  while  the  saucy  villains  showed 
themselves  boldly  by  day,  barking  at  us  from  the 
top  of  a  rock,  dodging  across  our  path  at  the  right 
and  left,  and  even  following  us  within  sight  of  the 
hut.  But  all  this  was  done  at  a  safe  distance  from 
our  guns. 


130  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Petersen  went  far  out  to  sea  on  the  ice,  but 
neither  bear  nor  seal  rewarded  his  toil.  We  had 
burned  up  our  lard  keg  for  our  semi-daily  fire  to 
cook  our  scanty  meals,  and  now,  with  a  sorrow  that 
went  to  our  hearts,  began  to  break  up  the  "  Hope." 
We  knew  this  step  argued  badly  for  the  future,  but 
what  could  we  do  ?  Besides,  it  was  poor,  water- 
soaked  fuel,  and  would  last  but  a  little  while.  We 
saved  the  straightest  and  best  pieces  for  trade  with 
the  Esquimo. 

Our  scanty  meals,  badly  helped  by  the  stone 
moss,  told  upon  our  health.  Stephenson  gasped 
for  breath  with  a  heart  trouble.;  Godfrey  fainted, 
and  was  happily  saved  a  serious  fall  by  being 
caught  in  John's  arms. 


Esquimo   Treachery.  131 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

QUIMO     TREACHERY. 

THE  kind  Providence  which  had  interfered 
for  us  in  so  many  cases  came  with  timely 
help.  October  twenty-sixth,  Kalutunah  and  his 
companion  returned.  They  had  been  south  to 
Cape  York,  nearly  a  hundred  miles,  calling  on 
their  way  at  the  village  called  Akbat,  thirty  miles 
off.  They  had  killed  three  bears,  the  most  of 
which  they  had  upon  their  sledges.  They  sold 
us,  reluctantly,  enough  for  a  few  days.  We  ate  of 
the  refreshing  meat  like  starving  men,  as  we  real 
ly  were.  Our  sunken  eyes  and  hollow  cheeks 
seemed  to  leave  us  at  a  single  meal.  The  faint  re 
vived,  and  our  despondency  departed.  Our  past 
sufferings  were  for  the  moment  at  least  forgotten, 
and  we  looked  hopefully  upon  the  future. 

The  next  day  the  Esquimo  called  and  left  a  lit 
tle  more  meat  and  blubber.  We  caught  two  small 
foxes,  one  of  them  in  a  trap,  and  the  other  was 
arrested  by  a  shot  from  Dr.  Hayes's  gun.  The 
audacious  little  fellow  run  over  the  roof  of  our 
hut  and  awoke  the  doctor,  who,  without  dressing, 
seized  his  double-barreled  gun,  and  bolted  into 
the  cold  without.  It  was  dark,  and  he  fired  at 
random.  The  first  shot  missed,  but  the  second 
wounded  him,  and  he  went  limping  down  the  hill. 


132  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

The  doctor  gave  chase  and  returned  with  the 
game,  but  came  near  paying  dear  for  his  prize, 
barely  escaping  without  frozen  feet. 

On  Sunday,  the  twenty-ninth,  in  the  midst  of 
pensive  allusions,  and  more  pensive  thoughts,  con 
cerning  home,  in  which  even  Petersen's  weather- 
beaten  face  betrayed  a  tear,  an  Esquimo  boy  came 
in  from  Akbat.  His  bearing  was  manly,  his  coun 
tenance  fresh  and  agreeable,  if  not  handsome,  and 
Jiis  dress,  of  the  usual  material,  was  new.  He 
drove  a  fine  team  with  decided  spirit.  He  was 
evidently  somebody's  pet,  and  we  thought  we  saw 
a  mother's  partial  stamp  upon  him.  He  was  on 
his  way  to  Netlik,  and  our  curious  inquiries  brought 
from  him  the  blushing  acknowledgment  that  he 
was  going  "  a  courting!"  He  was  nothing  loath 
to  talk  of  his  sweetheart,  and  he  bore  her  a  bundle 
of  bird-skins  to  make  her  an  under  garment  as 
love-token.  We  gave  him  a  pocket-knife  and  a 
piece  of  wood,  to  which  we  added  two  needles 
for  his  lady-love.  He  was  full  of  joy  at  this  good 
fortune,  but  when  Sontag  added  a  string  of  beads 
for  her  his  cup  run  over.  He  had  on  his  sledge 
two  small  pieces  of  blubber,  a  pound  of  bear's 
meat,  a  bit  of  bear's  skin.  These  he  laid  at 
our  feet,  and  dashed  off  toward  Netlik  in  fine 
spirits. 

When  he  was  gone  we  renewed  our  ever-return 
ing,  perplexing,  never-settled  question,  What  shall 
we  do  ?  We  could  agree  on  no  plans  of  escape, 
for  all  seemed  impossible  of  execution.  Yet  we 
did  agree  in  the  expediency  of  opening  a  commu- 


Esquimo  Treachery,  133 

nication  with  the  brig.     But  how  to   do  it  was  the 
question. 

Our  dependence  upon  the  Esquimo  growing 
more  humiliatingly  absolute  every  day,  pained  us. 
We  feared  their  treachery,  of  which  we  already 
saw  some  signs.  u  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  was  ever 
repeated. 

While  thus  perplexed,  Kalutunah  made  his  ap 
pearance.  With  him  were  a  young  hunter,  and  a 
woman  with  a  six  months'  old  baby.  The  little 
one  was  wrapped  in  fox-skin,  and  thrust  into  its 
mother's  hood,  which  hung  on  her  neck  behind. 
It  peered  out  of  its  hiding-place  with  a  contented 
and  curious  expression  of  face.  Its  mother  had 
come  forty  miles,  sometimes  walking  over  the 
hummocky  way,  with  the  thermometer  thirty-eight 
degrees  below  zero,  with  a  liability  of  encounter 
ing  terrific  storms,  and  all  to  see  the  white  men 
and  their  igloe.  Mother  and  child  arrived  in  good 
condition. 

We  conversed  with  the  chief  about  our  plan  of 
going  to  Upernavik  on  sledges,  and  proposed  to 
buy  teams  of  his  people,  or  hire  them  to  drive  us 
there.  He  received  the  proposal  with  a  decided 
dissent,  amounting  almost  to  resentment.  His 
people,  he  said,  would  not  sell  dogs  at  any  price ; 
they  had  only  enough  to  preserve  their  own  lives. 

This  we  knew  to  be  false.  We  offered  a  great 
price,  but  he  scorned  the  bribe,  and  talked  with 
an  expression  of  horror  about  our  plan  of  passing 
with  sledges  over  the  Frozen  Sea,  as  he  called 
Melville  Bay. 
-  9 


134  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

While  we  were  urging  the  sale  by  him  of  dogs 
and  sledges  he  looked  quizzically  at  our  emaci 
ated  forms  and  sunken  cheeks,  and  turning  to 
the  woman  with  a  significant  twinkle  in  his  eye, 
he  sucked  in  his  cheeks.  She  returned  the 
knowing  glance,  and  sucked  in  her  cheeks.  This 
meant :  We  shall  get  all  the  white  men's  coveted 
things  without  paying  when  we  find  them  starved 
and  dead.  This  was  a  comforting  view  of  the 
case — for  them. 

We  dropped  the  plan  of  going  south,  and  pro 
posed  to  the  chief  to  carry  some  of  our  party  to 
the  ship.  This  he  readily  assented  to,  and  said 
at  least  four  sledges  should  go  with  Petersen,  if  to 
each  driver  should  be  given  a  knife  and  piece  of 
wood.  We  closed  the  bargain  gladly,  and  Peter- 
sen  was  to  start  in  the  morning. 

Guests  and  entertainers  now  sought  rest.  We 
gave  the  mother  and  child  our  bed  in  the  corner. 
This  was  to  us  a  self-denying  act  of  courtesy, 
compelled  by  policy.  We  had  usually  given  a 
good  distance  between  us  and  such  lodgers  on 
account  of  certain  specimens  of  natural  history 
which  swarmed  upon  their  bodies,  which,  though 
starving,  we  did  not  desire.  But  to  put  her  in  a 
meaner  place  would  be  a  serious  affront,  for  which 
we  might  be  obliged  to  pay  dearly. 

About  midnight  voices  were  heard  outside,  and 
soon  our  young  lover,  the  boy-hunter,  entered,  ac 
companied  by  a  widow  who  was  neither  young 
nor  beautiful.  The  hut  was  in  instant  confusion. 
There  was  but  little  more  sleep  for  the  night,  which 


Esquimo   Treachery.  135 

was  peculiarly  hard  on  Petersen,  who  was  to  start 
in  the  morning  on  his  long  journey. 

We  had  no  food  with  which  to  treat  our  guests, 
which  they  saw,  and  so  supped  upon  the  provis 
ions  which  they  brought.  The  widow  ate  raw 
young  birds,  of  which  she  brought  a  supply  saved 
over  from  the  summer.  The  Angekok  had  de 
cided  that  her  husband's  spirit  had  taken  tempo 
rary  residence  in  a  walrus,  so  she  was  forbidden 
that  animal.  She  chewed  choice  bits  of  her  bird 
and  offered  them  to  us.  We  tried  politely  to  de 
cline  the  kindness,  but  our  refusal  plainly  offended 
her. 

The  widow's  husband  had  been  carried  out  to 
sea  on  an  ice-raft  on  the  sudden  breaking  up  of 
the  floe,  and  had  never  been  heard  from.  When 
ever  his  name  was  mentioned  she  burst  into  tears. 
Petersen  told  us  that,  according  to  Esquimo  cus 
tom  in  such  cases,  we  were  expected  to  join  in  the 
weeping. 

At  the  first  attempt  our  success  was  very  in 
different.  On  the  next  occasion  we  equaled  in 
sincerity  and  naturalness  the  expressed  sorrow  of 
the  heirs  of  a  rich  miser  over  his  mortal  remains. 
Even  the  tears  we  managed  so  well  that  the  wid 
ow,  charitably  forgetting  our  former  affront,  offered 
us  more  chewed  meat. 

In  the  morning  Petersen  was  off,  Godfrey  ac 
companying  him  at  his  own  option. 

The  same  evening  John  and  Sontag  went  south 
with  the  widow  and  young  hunter.  Thus  four  of 
us  only  were  left  in  the  hut,  and  of  these,  one, 


136  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Stephenson,  was  seriously  sick.  His  death  at  any 
time  would  not  have  been  a  surprise  to  us.  The 
hut  was  colder  than  ever,  and  our  food  nearly 
gone.  A  few  books,  among  which  was  a  little 
Bible,  the  gift  of  a  friend,  were  a  great  source  of 
comfort. 

In  a  few  days  John  and  Sontag  returned.  They 
had  fared  well  during  their  absence.  They  were 
accompanied  by  two  Esquimo,  who  brought  us 
food  for  a  few  days,  for  which  they  demanded  an 
exorbitant  price.  They,  like  people  claiming  a 
higher  civilization,  took  advantage  of  our  neces 
sity.  When  they  were  about  to  depart  on  a  bear 
hunt,  Dr.  Hayes  proposed  that  two  of  us  accom 
pany  them  with  our  guns,  but  they  declined.  We 
went  with  them  to  the  beach,  saw  them  start, 
watched  them  as  they  swiftly  glided  over  the  ice, 
and,  dodging  skillfully  around  the  hummocks, 
faded  into  a  black  speck  in  the  distance. 

The  day  was  spent  as  one  of  rest  by  four  of  our 
number,  while  two  of  us  visited  the  traps,  return 
ing  as  usual  with  nothing.  The  evening  came. 
A  cup  of  good  coffee  revived  us.  The  tempera 
ture  of  our  den  came  up  to  the  freezing  point. 
We  were  in  the  midst  of  this  feast  of  hot  coffee 
and  increased  warmth,  when  we  heard  a  footfall. 
We  hailed  in  Esquimo,  but  no  answer.  Soon  the 
outer  door  of  our  passage  way  opened,  a  man 
entered  and  fell  prostrate  with  a  deep  moan.  It 
was  Petersen.  He  crept  slowly  in  as  we  opened 
the  door,  staggered  across  the  hut,  and  fell  ex 
hausted  on  the  breck. 


Esquimo  Treachery.  137 

Godfrey  soon  followed,  even  more  exhausted. 
They  both  called  piteously  for  "  water !  water !  " 

They  were  in  no  condition  to  explain  what  had 
happened.  We  stripped  them  of  their  frozen  gar 
ments,  rubbed  their  stiffened  limbs,  and  rolled 
them  in  warm  blankets.  We  gave  them  of  our 
hot  coffee,  and  the  warmth  of  the  hut  and  dry 
clothes  revived  them,  but  the  sudden  and  great 
change  was  followed  by  a  brief  cloud  over  their 
minds.  They  fell  into  a  disturbed  sleep,  and  their 
sudden  starts,  groans,  and  mutterings,  told  of  some 
terrible  distress. 

Petersen,  while  sipping  his  coffee,  had  told  us 
that  the  Esquimo  had  thrown  off  their  disguise 
and  had  attempted  to  murder  them  ;  that  he  and 
Godfrey  had  walked  all  the  way  from  Netlik  with 
the  Esquimo  in  hot  pursuit.  We  must  watch,  he 
said,  for  if  off  our  guard  they  might  overwhelm  us 
with  numbers. 

This  much  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  know ;  the 
details  of  their  terrible  experience  he  was  in  no 
mood  to  give. 

We  immediately  set  a  watch  outside,  who  was 
relieved  every  hour;  he  was  armed  with  Bonsall's 
rifle.  Our  other  guns  we  fired  off  and  carefully 
reloaded,  hanging  them  upon  their  pegs  for  in 
stant  use. 

Petersen  and  Godfrey  awoke  once,  ate,  and  lay 
down  to  their  agitated  sleep.  No  others  slept,  or 
even  made  the  attempt.  The  creak  of  the  boots 
of  the  sentinel  as  he  tramped  his  beat  near  the 
hut,  on  a  little  plain  cleared  of  snow  by  the  wind, 


138  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

was  the  only  sound  which  broke  the  solemn  si 
lence.  The  enemy  would  not  dare  attack  us  ex 
cept  unawares,  knowing,  as  they  did,  that  there 
were  eight  of  us,  armed  with  guns.  At  midnight 
noises  were  heard  about  the  rocks  of  the  coast. 
They  were  watching,  but  seeing  the  sentinel,  and 
finding  it  a  chilling  business  to  wait  for  our  cessa 
tion  of  vigilance,  they  sneaked  away.  In  the 
morning  one  of  our  men  visited  the  rocky  coverts 
and  found  their  fresh  tracks. 

We  received  at  the  earliest  opportunity  the  de 
tails  of  Petersen's  story.  They  left  us  on  the 
third  of  November,  and  were  gone  four  days. 
They  arrived  in  Netlik  in  nine  hours,  and  were 
lodged  one  in  each  of  the  two  igloes.  Their  wel 
come  had  a  seeming  heartiness.  They  had  a  full 
supply  set  before  them  of  tender  young  bear-steak 
and  choice  puppy  stew.  Many  strangers  were 
present,  and  they  continued  to  come  until  the 
huts  were  crowded. 

The  next  day  the  hunters  all  started  early  on 
the  chase,  to  get,  as  Kalutunah  said,  a  good  sup 
ply  for  their  excursion  to  the  ship,  as  well  as  a 
store  for  their  families.  This  looked  reasonable, 
but  when  night  came  the  chief  and  a  majority  of 
the  men  returned  not,  nor  did  they  appear  the 
next  day.  The  moon  had  just  passed  its  full,  no 
time  could  be  spared  for  trifling,  and  Petersen 
grew  uneasy.  This  feeling  was  increased  by  the 
strangers  which  continued  to  come,  the  running 
to  and  fro  of  the  women,  the  side  glances,  and  the 
covert  laugh  among  the  crowd. 


Esquimo   Treachery.  139 

Kalutunah  returned  on  the  evening  of  the  third 
day  of  our  men  at  the  hut.  Several  sledges  ac 
companied  him,  and  one  of  them  was  driven  by  a 
brawny  savage  by  the  name  of  Sipsu.  He  had 
shown  his  ugly  face  once  at  our  hut.  He  was 
above  the  usual  height,  broad-chested  and  strong 
limbed.  He  had  a  few  bristly  hairs  upon  his  chin 
and  upper  lip,  and  dark,  heavy  eyebrows  over 
shadowed  his  well  set,  evil-looking  eyes.  He  was 
every  inch  a  savage.  While  the  crowd  laughed, 
joked,  and  fluttered  curiously  about  the  strangers, 
Sipsu  was  digniried,  sullen,  or  full  of  dismal 
stories.  He  had,  he  said,  killed  two  men  of  his 
tribe.  They  were  poor  hunters,  so  he  stole  upon 
them  from  behind  a  hummock,  and  harpooned 
them  in  the  back. 

Whatever  shrewdness  Sipsu  possessed,  he  did 
not  have  wit  enough  to  hide  his  true  character 
from  his  intended  victims. 

About  twelve  sledges  were  now  collected,  and 
Petersen  supposed  they  would  start  early  in  the 
morning  for  the  "Advance","  so  he  ventured  to  try 
to  hurry  them  a  few  hours  by  suggesting  midnight 
for  the  departure.  To  this  suggestion  they  replied 
that  they  would  not  go  at  all,  and  that  they  never 
intended  to  go.  The  crowd  in  the  hut  greeted 
this  announcement  with  uproarious  laughter. 

Petersen  maintained  a  bold  bearing.  He  rose 
and  went  to  the  other  hut  and  put  Godfrey  upon 
the  watch,  telling  him^  what  had  happened.  He 
then  returned  and  demanded  good  faith  from  the 
chiefs.  They  only  muttered  that  they  could  not 


140  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

go  north ;  they  could  not  pass  that  "  blowing 
place  " — Cape  Alexander.  He  then  asked  them 
to  sell  him  a  dog-team ;  he  would  pay  them  well. 
They  evaded  this  question,  and  Sipsu  said  to 
Kalutunah,  in  a  side  whisper,  "  We  can  get  his 
things  in  a  cheaper  way." 

Now  commenced  the  game  of  wait  and  watch 
between  the  two  parties ;  the  chiefs  waited  and 
watched  to  kill  Petersen,  and  he  waited  and 
watched  not  to  be  killed.  He  had  his  gun  outside, 
because  the  moisture  of  the  hut  condensing  on  the 
lock  might  prevent  it  from  going  off.  He  had  told 
the  crowd  that  if  they  touched  it  it  might  kill 
them,  and  this  fear  was  its  safety.  Those  inside 
thought  he  had  a  pistol  concealed  under  his  gar 
ments.  They  had  seen  such  articles,  and  witnessed 
their  deadly  power.  Their  purpose  now  was  to 
get  possession  of  this  weapon,  and  Sipsu  was  the 
man  to  do  it. 

Petersen,  cool  as  he  was  prompt  and  skillful,  had 
not  betrayed  his  suspicions  of  them;  so  he  threw 
himself  upon  the  breck  and  feigned  himself  asleep, 
to  draw  out  their  plans. 

The  strategy  worked  well.  The  gossiping 
tongues  of  men,  women,  and  children  loosened 
when  they  thought  him  asleep,  and  they  revealed 
all  their  secrets.  Petersen  and  Godfrey  were  to 
be  killed  on  the  spot,  and  our  hut  was  to  be  sur 
prised  before  Sontag  and  John  returned  from  the 
south.  Sipsu  the  while  moved  softly  toward  Pe 
tersen  to  search  for  the  pistol.  Just  at  this  moment 
Godfrey  came  to  the  window  and  hallooed  to 


Esquimo   Treachery.  141 

learn  if  his  chief  was  alive.  Petersen  rose  from 
his  sham  sleep  and  went  out.  A  crowd  were  at 
the  door  and  about  the  gun,  but  they  dared  not 
touch  it.  The  intended  victims  kept  a  bold  front, 
and  coolly  proposed  a  hunt.  This  the  natives  de 
clined,  and  they  declared  they  would  go  alone. 

It  was  late  in  the  night  when  our  beset  and 
worried  men  started.  They  were  watched  sullen 
ly  until  they  were  two  miles  away,  and  then  the 
sledges  were  harnessed  for  the  pursuit.  Fifty 
yelping  dogs  mingled  their  cries  with  those  of  the 
men,  and  made  a  fiendish  din  in  the  ears  of  the 
flying  fugitives.  What  could  they  do  if  the  dogs 
were  let  loose  upon  them,  having  only  a  single 
rifle  !  One  thing  they  intended  should  be  sure ; 
Sipsu  or  Kalutunah  should  die  in  the  attack. 

When  the  pursuers  seemed  at  the  very  heels  of 
our  men,  that  one  gun  made  cowards  of  the  Esqui 
mo  chiefs.  They  seemed  to  understand  their  dan 
ger.  The  whole  pack  of  dogs  and  men  turned 
seaward,  and  disappeared  among  the  hummocks. 
.  They  meant  a  covert  attack. 

Keeping  the  shore  and  avoiding  the  hiding- 
places,  Petersen  and  Godfrey  pressed  on.  The 
night  was  calm  and  clear,  but  the  cold  was  over 
fifty  degrees  below  zero.  When  half  way,  at  Cape 
Parry,  they  well-nigh  fainted  and  fell.  But  en 
couraging  each. other,  they  still  hurried  onward, 
and  made  the  fifty  miles  (it  was  forty  in  a  straight 
line)  in  twenty-four  hours.  The  reader  under 
stands  why  they  arrived  in  such  distress  and  ex 
haustion. 


142  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

LIGHTS    AND     SHADOWS. 

DURING  the  two  days  following  the  return 
of  Petersen  and  Godfrey  we  spent  our  work 
ing  hours  in  building  a  wall  about  our  hut.  It 
was  made  of  frozen  snow,  sawed  in  blocks  by  our 
small  saw.  This  wall  served  a  double  purpose, 
that  of  breaking  the  wind  from  our  hut, 'and  as  a 
defense  against  the  Esquimo.  It  gave  our  abode 
the  appearance  of  a  fort,  and  we  called  it  Fort 
Desolation.  John  muttered  :  Better  call  it  Fort 
Starvation !  This  was  in  fact  no  unfitting  desig 
nation.  Our  food  was  nearly  gone.  Those  who 
alone  could  keep  us  from  starving  were  seeking 
our  lives.  A  feeble,  flickering  light  made  the 
darkness  of  our  hut  visible.  Darkness,  and  damp 
ness,  and  destitution  were  within,  and  without 
were  fears.  We  could  not  be  blamed,  perhaps,  if 
the  death  which  threatened  us  seemed  more  de 
sirable  than  life.  Yet  we  could  not  forget  Him 
who  had  so  often  snatched  us  from  the  jaws  of  our 
enemies  —  cold,  hunger,  and  savages  —  and  we 
trusted  him  to  again  deliver  us.  And  this  he  did, 
for  the  next  day  Kalutunah  and  another  hunter 
appeared.  They  did  not  come  as  enemies,  but 
as  angel  messengers  of  mercy  from  the  All-Mer 
ciful  ! 


Lights  and  Shadows.  143 

The  chief  was  at  first  shy,  nor  could  he  so  far 
lay  aside  the  cowardice  of  conscious  guilt  as  to  lay 
down  for  a  moment  his  harpoon,  at  other  times 
left  at  the  hut  door.  He  brought,  to  conciliate  us, 
a  goodly  piece  of  walrus  meat.  After  spending  an 
hour  with  us  he  dashed  out  upon  the  ice  on  a 
moonlight  hunt  for  bears. 

Petersen  spent  the  day  in  making  knives  for  the 
Esquimo,  in  anticipation  of  restored  friendship. 
With  an  old  file  he  filed  down  some  pieces  of  an 
iron  hoop,  punching  rivet  holes  with  the  file,  and 
whittling  a  handle  from  a  fragment  of  the  "  Hope." 
Though  the  knife,  when  done,  was  not  like  one  of 
"  Rogers's  best,"  it  was  no  mean  article  for  an  Es 
quimo  blubber  and  bear  meat  knife. 

The  next  day  four  sledges  and  six  Esquimo 
made  us  a  call.  One  of  them  was  our  old  friend 
the  widow,  with  her  bundle  of  birds  under  her 
arm. 

They  were  all  shy  at  first,  showing  a  knowledge 
at  least  of  the  wrong  intended  us,  but  we  soon 
made  them  feel  at  home.  It  was  indeed  for  our 
interest  to  do  so.  They  bartered  gladly  walrus, 
seal,  bear,  and  bird  meat,  a  hundred  pounds  in  all. 
It  made  a  goodly  pile,  enough  for  four  days,  but, 
alas !  the  duty  of  hospitality,  which  we  could  not 
wisely  decline,  compelled  us  to  treat  our  guests 
with  it,  and  they  ate  one  third!  In  three  hours 
they  were  off  toward  Netlik. 

The  next  day  an  Esquimo  man  came  from 
Northumberland  Island ;  we  had  not  seen  him  be 
fore,  and  he  did  not  appear  to  have  been  in  the 


144  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

council  of  the  plotters  against  us.  He  sold  us  wal 
rus  meat,  blubber,  and  fifty  little  sea  fowl. 

Our  health  absolutely  demanding  a  more  gener 
ous  diet,  we  ate  three  full  meals,  such  as  we  had 
not  had  since  leaving  the  ship.  Our  new  friend's 
name  was  Kingiktok — which  is,  by  interpretation, 
a  rock.  Mr.  Rock  was  a  man  of  few  words,  and 
of  very  civil  behavior.  We  fancied  him,  and 
courted  his  favor  by  a  few  presents  for  himself  and 
wife.  They  were  gifts  well  bestowed,  for  he  at 
once  opened  his  mouth  in  valuable  and  startling 
communications.  He  said  that  he  and  his  brother 
Amalatok  were  the  only  two  men  in  the  tribe  who 
were  friendly  to  us.  Amalatok  was  the  man  we  met 
on  Northumberland  Island,  who  will  be  remem 
bered  as  skinning  a  bird  so  adroitly,  and  offering 
us  lumps  of  fat  scraped  from  its  breast-bone  with 
his  thumb  nail. 

Mr.  Rock's  talk  run  thus  :  He  and  this  brother 
were  in  deadly  hostility  to  Sipsu.  The  reason  of 
this  hostility  was  very  curious.  The  brother's  wife, 
whom  we  thought  decidedly  hag-like  in  her  looks, 
was  accounted  a  witch.  Why  she  was  so  regarded 
was  not  stated.  Now  the  law  of  custom  with  this 
people  is  that  witches  may  be  put  to  death  by 
any  one  who  will  do  it  by  stealth.  She  may  be 
pounced  upon  from  behind  a  hummock  and  a  har 
poon  or  any  deadly  weapon  may  deal  the  fatal 
blow  in  the  back,  but  a  face  to  face  execution  was 
not  allowed.  It  was  understood  that  Sipsu  as 
sumed  the  office  of  executioner,  and  was  watching 
the  favoring  circumstances.  On  the  other  hand 


Lights  and  Shadows.  145 

the  husband,  and  his  brother,  Mr.  Rock,  watched 
with  courage  and  vigilance  in  behalf  of  the  ac 
cused,  while  she  lacked  neither  in  her  own  watch 
ing.  Thus  the  family  had  no  fraternal  relations 
with  the  villagers,  though  visits  were  exchanged 
between  them. 

Concerning  the  conspiracy,  Mr.  Rock  thus  testi 
fied  :  Sipsu  had  for  a  long  time  counseled  the 
tribe  not  to  visit  nor  sell  food  to  the  white  men, 
holding  that  they  could  not  kill  the  bear,  walrus, 
and  seal,  and  would  soon  starve,,  and  so  all  the 
coveted  things  would  fall  into  Esquimo  hands. 
Kalutunah,  on  the  other  hand,  held* -that  their 
"  booms  " — guns — could  secure  them  any  game, 
and  that  our  poverty  of  food  was  owing  to  a  dis 
like  of  work. 

There  had  arisen,  too,  a  jealousy  about  the 
presents  we  gave.  Sipsu's  let-alone  policy  caused 
his  wife  to  complain  that  she  only  of  the  women 
was  without  even  a  needle.  This  drove  him  to  a 
reluctant  visit  to  us  in  which  he  got  but  little,  so 
the  matter  was  not  bettered. 

Besides  this,  the  condition  of  apparent  starva 
tion,  in  which  the  visitors  found  us  from  time  to 
time,  finally  gave  popularity  to  Sipsu's  position, 
and  Kalutunah  yielded  to  the  older  and  stronger 
chief. 

When  Petersen  and  Godfrey  arrived  at  Netlik, 
Kalutunah  went  fifty  miles  to  inform  Sipsu  at  his 
home  of  the  good  occasion  offered  to  kill  them. 
Sipsu  was  to  lead  the  attack,  and  Kalutunah  fol 
low.  The  arrangement  was  as  we  have  stated, 


146  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

but  failed  on  account  of  Sipsu's  fear  of  the  "  au- 
leit " — pistol.  Having  failed,  his  chagrin  and 
anger  led  to  the  hot  pursuit,  in  which  he  intended 
to  set  the  dogs  upon  our  men.  But  this  failed 
when  he  saw  how  near  he  mast  himself  venture  to 
the  "  boom." 

This  story  agreed  so  well  with  what  Petersen 
and  Godfrey  saw  and  suspected  that  we  fully  be 
lieved  it. 

Mr.  Rock  left  us  in  the  morning,  and  that  even 
ing  eleven  natives,  one  of  whom  was  Kalutunah,, 
called  upon  us  on  their  way  from  Akbat  to  Netlik. 
The  Angekok  was  full  of  talk  and  smiles.  He 
gave  us  a  quarter  of  a  young  bear,  for  which  we 
gave  him  one  of  Petersen's  hoop-iron  knives.  He 
was  not  pleased  with  it,  for  he  had  learned  before 
the  difference  between  iron  and  steel.  He  at 
tempted  to  cut  a  piece  of  frozen  liver  with  it  and 
it  bent.  He  then  bent  it  in  the  form  of  a  U,  and 
threw  it  spitefully  away,  grunting,  "  No  good."  We 
satisfied  him  with  a  piece  of  wood  to  patch  his 
sledge. 

Among  our  guests  were  two  widows  having  each 
a  child.  One  of  the  little  ones  was  stripped  to 
the  skin,  and  turned  loose  to  root  at  liberty.  It 
was  three  years  old,  and  plainly  the  dirt  upon  its 
greasy  skin  had  been  accumulating  just  that  length 
of  time. 

One  of  the  hunters  was  attended  by  his  wife 
and  two  children — a  girl  four,  and  boy  seven  years 
old. 

The  fat  fires  of  the  several  families  were  soon 


Lights  and  Shadows.  147 

in  full  blaze,  which,  added  to  the  heat  of  nineteen 
persons,  warmed  our  hut  as  it  was  never  warmed 
before.  The  heat  set  the  ceiling  and  walls  drip 
ping  with  the  melted  frost-work,  and  every  thing 
was  wet  or  made  damp.  Besides,  the  air  became 
insufferable  with  bad  odors.  It  was  now  Fort 
Misery. 

But  the  frozen  meat  at  which  we  had  been  nib 
bling  was  soon  thrown  aside  for  hot  coffee,  steam 
ing  stew,  and  thawed  blubber.  Strips  of  blubber 
varying  from  three  inches  to  a  foot  in  length  and 
an  inch  thick  circulate  about  the  hut.  Strips  of 
bear  and  walrus  also  go  round.  These  strips  are 
seized  with  the  fingers,  the  head  is  thrown  back, 
and  the  mouth  is  opened,  one  end  is  thrust  in  a 
convenient  distance,  the  teeth  are  closed,  it  is  cut 
off  at  the  lips,  and  the  piece  is  swallowed  quickly, 
with  the  least  possible  chewing,  that  dispatch  may 
be  made,  and  the  process  repeated.  The  seven- 
year-old  boy  stood  against  a  post,  astride  a  big 
chunk  of  walrus,  naked  to  the  waste,  as  all  the 
guests  were.  He  was  sucking  down  in  good  style 
a  strip  of  blubber,  his  face  and  hands  besmeared 
with  blood  and  fat,  which  ran  in  a  purple  stream 
off  his  chin,  and  from  thence  streamed  over  the 
shining  skin  below.  Our  disconsolate  widow 
supped  apart,  as  usual,  on  her  supply  of  sea-fowls. 
Four,  each  about  the  size  of  a  half-grown  domestic 
hen,  was  all  she  appeared  to  be  able  to  eat ! 

We  all  ate,  and  had  enough.  Then  followed 
freedom  of  talk  such  as  is  wont  to  follow  satisfied 
appetites,  and  jokes  and  songs  went  round.  God- 


148  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

frey  amused  the  women  and  children  with  negro 
melodies,  accompanied  by  a  fancied  banjo.  Dr. 
Hayes  and  Kalutunah  try  to  teach  each  other  their 
languages.  Bonsall  looks  on  and  helps.  The 
chief  is  given  "  yes  "  and  "  no,"  and  taught  what 
Esquimo  word  they  stand  for.  He  tries  to  pro 
nounce  them,  says  "  ee's  "  and  "  noe,"  and  inquir 
ingly  says,  "  tyma  ?  "  (right  ?)  Dr.  Hayes  nods, 
"  tyma  "  with  an  encouraging  smile,  at  which  the 
chief  laughs  at  the  "  doctees  "  badly  pronounced 
Esquimo. 

They  try  to  count,  and  the  Angekok  says  "une  " 
for  one,  strains  hard  at  "  too  "  for  two,  and  fails 
utterly  at  the  "  th  "  in  three. 

The  "  doctee  "  tries  the  Esquimo  one,  gets  pat 
ted  on  the  back  with  "  tyma !  tyma !  "  accompanied 
with  merry  laughs.  The  chief  tries  again,  gets 
prompted  by  punches  in  the  ribs,  and  significant 
commendation  in  twitches  of  his  left  ear. 

Having  reached  ten,  the  Esquimo  numerals  are 
exhausted.  Sontag,  with  the  help  of  Petersen, 
questions  one  of  the  hunters  about  his  people's 
astronomy.  The  result  in  part  is  as  follows,  and 
is  very  curious. 

The  heavenly  bodies  are  the  spirits  of  deceased 
Esquimo,  or  of  some  of  the  lower  animals.  The 
sun  and  moon  are  brother  and  sister.  The  stars 
we  call  "  the  dipper  "  are  reindeer.  The  stars  of 
"  Orion's  belt  "  are  hunters  who  have  lost  their 
way.  The  "  Pleiades  "  are  a  pack  of  dogs  in  pur 
suit  of  a  bear.  The  aurora  borealis  is  caused  by 
the  spirits  at  play  with  one  another. 


Lights  and  Skadoivs.  149 

It  has  other  teachings  on  the  science  of  the 
heavens  equally  wise.  But  they  are  close  observ 
ers  of  the  movements  of  the  stars.  We  went  out 
at  midnight  to  look  after  the  dogs,  and  Peter- 
sen  asked  Kalutunah  when  they  intended  to  go. 
He  pointed  to  a  star  standing  over  Saunders 
Island,  in  the  south.  Passing  his  finger  slowly 
around  to  the  west  he  pointed  at  another  star,  say 
ing,  "  When  that  star  gets  where  the  other  is  we 
will  start." 

Our  guests  at  last  lay  down  to  sleep,  but  we  could 
not  lie  down  near  them  nor  allow  them  our  blank 
ets  ;  so  we  watched  out  the  night. 
10 


150  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

DRUGGED      ESQUIMO. 

THE  visitors  left  in  the  morning.  We  were 
now  all  well  except  Stephenson.  Though 
we  had  just  eaten  and  were  refreshed,  in  a  few 
days  we  might  be  starving,  so  we  renewed  our 
planning.  To  open  a  communication  with  the 
"Advance  "  seemed  a  necessity.  Petersen  volun 
teered  to  make  another  effort  if  he  could  have  one 
companion.  Bonssll  promptly  answered,  "  I  will 
be  that  companion,"  at  which  we  all  rejoiced,  as 
he  was  the  fittest  man  for  the  journey  next  to  the 
Dane. 

A  dog-team  and  a  sledge  were  an  acquisition  now 
most  needed  for  the  proposed  enterprise.  In  a 
few  days  an  old  man  came  in  whom  we  had  never 
seen,  belonging  far  up  Whale  Sound ;  then  came  a 
hunter  from  Akbat  with  his  family.  Of  these  men 
after  much  bartering  we  purchased  four  dogs. 
Petersen  commenced  at  once  the  manufacture  of 
a  sledge  out  of  the  wood  left  of  the  "  Hope."  All 
of  his  excellent  skill  was  needed  to  make  a  serv 
iceable  article  with  his  poor  tools  and  materials^. 

On  the  twentieth  of  November  the  sledge  was 
nearly  finished,  and  a  breakfast  on  our  last  piece 
of  meat  assured  us  that  what  was  done  for  our 
rescue  must  be  done  soon.  But  God's  hand  was, 


Drugged  Esquimo.  151 

as  usual,  opened  to  supply  us ;  in  the  evening  a  fox 
was  found  in  our  trap.  Stephenson,  who  had  been 
cheered  by  our  tea,  received  the  last  cup. 

We  were  reduced  to  stone-moss,  boiled  in  blub 
ber,  and  coffee,  and  a  short  allowance  of  these, 
when  two  hunters  left  us  three  birds,  on  which  we 
supped. 

We  were  now  out  of  food.  The  Esquimo  had, 
most  of  them,  gone  north,  owing  to  the  failure  of 
game  at  the  south ;  soon  all  would  be  gone.  Fur 
ther  discussion  led  us  to  the  conclusion  that  we 
must  all  return  to  the  "  Advance,"  and  start  soon 
unless  we  chose  to  die  where  we  were.  So  we 
commenced  preparations  for  the  desperate  enter 
prise. 

To  carry  out  this  plan  it  was  absolutely  neces 
sary  to  have  two  more  dogs,  for  which  we  must 
trust  to  our  Esquimo  visitors.  A  sledge  drawn 
by  six  dogs  could  convey  our  small  outfit  and  poor 
invalid  Stephenson.  We  purposed  to  direct  our 
course  straight  for  Northumberland  Island,  which 
we  hoped  to  reach  by  lodging  one  night  in  a  snow- 
hut.  For  each  person  there  must  be  a  pair  of 
blankets.  Our  clothing  was  wholly  insufficient 
for  such  a  journey,  so  we  set  at  work  to  improve 
it  the  best  we  could.  Our  buffalo  robes  had  been 
spread  upon  the  stone  breck  for  beds.  They  were 
of  course  frozen  down;  in  some  places  solid  ice  of 
several  inches'  thickness  had  accumulated,  into 
which  they  were  imbedded.  When  disengaged, 
as  they  had  to  be  with  much  care  and  great  labor, 
the  under  side  was  covered  with  closely  adhering 


152  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

pebble-stones.  The  robes  were  hung  up  to  dry 
before  we  could  work  upon  them.  We  now  slept 
on  a  double  blanket  spread  on  the  stones  and  peb 
bles — a  sleeping  which  refreshed  us  as  little  as  our 
moss  food. 

We  now,  under  the  instructions  of  Petersen,  cut 
up  the  buffalo  robes  and  sewed  them  into  gar 
ments  to  wear  on  our  journey.  We  refreshed  our 
selves  with  frequent  sips  of  coffee,  of  which,  fortu 
nately,  we  had  a. plenty,  and  made  out  one  meal  at 
night  on  walrus  hide  boiled  or  fried  in  oil,  as  we 
fancied.  It  was  very  tough  eating. 

At  the  close  of  the  second  day's  tailoring  four 
hunters  came  in  from  Akbat,  with  five  women  and 
seven  children.  We  stowed  them  all  away  for  the 
night,  and  gladly  did  so  for  the  opportunity  of 
purchasing  forty-eight  small  birds,  a  small  quanti 
ty  of  dried  seal  meat,  and  some  dried  seal  intes 
tines  imperfectly  cleansed;  but  better,  if  possible, 
was  the  purchase  of  two  dogs.  Our  team  of  six 
was  complete.  The  hand  of  the  great  Provider 
was  plainly  manifested. 

The  visitors  were  soon  gone,  but  the  four  hunt 
ers  came  back  the  next  day.  They  were  bent  on 
mischief.  They  stole,  or  tried  to  steal,  whatever 
they  saw,  and  seemed  glad  to  annoy  us.  Unfor 
tunately  for  us,  close  upon  their  heels  came  an 
other  party,  from  the  south  also,  and  equally  bent 
on  mischief.  Among  them  was  an  old  evil-eyed 
woman.  Whatever  she  saw  she  coveted,  and  all 
that  she  could  she  stole.  Going  to  her  sledge  as 
the  party  was  about  to  start,  we  found  a  mixed 


Drugged  Esquimo.  153 

collection  of  our  articles,  some  of  which  could 
have  been  of  no  use  to  her.  But  we  had  missed 
two  drinking  cups  which  we  could  not  find.  We 
charged  her  with  the  theft,  but  she  protested  inno 
cence.  We  threatened  to  search  her  sledge,  and 
she  straightway  produced  them,  and,  to  conciliate 
us,  threw  down  three  sea-fowl.  We  were  gladly 
thus  conciliated. 

The  whole  party  became  so  troublesome  that  we 
were  compelled  to  drive  them  away.  The  hunters 
lingered  about,  intending,  we  feared,  to  steal  our 
dogs,  two  of  which  were  purchased  of  them.  We 
set  a  watch  until  they  seemed  to  have  left  the 
vicinity,  but  no  sooner  was  the  sentinel's  back 
turned  than  one  of  them  and  one  of  the  dogs 
were  seen  scampering  off  together.  Bonsall  seized 
his  rifle,  and  a  sudden  turn  round  a  rock  by  the 
thief  saved  him  from  the  salutation  of  an  ounce 
of  lead. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  November  we  were 
ready  for  a  start.  Our  outfit  was  meager  enough. 
It  consisted  of  eight  blankets,  a  field  lamp  and 
kettle,  two  tin  drinking  cups,  coffee  for  ten  days, 
eight  pounds  of  blubber,  and  two  days'  meat. 
This  last  consisted  of  sea-fowls  boiled,  boned, 
and  cut  into  small  pieces.  They  were  frozen 
into  a  solid  lump.  We  hoped  to  be  at  North 
umberland  Island  in  two  days,  and  get  fresh 
supplies. 

The  sled  was  taken  out  through  the  roof  of  the 
hut,  loaded,  and  the  load  well  secured,  and  poor 
Stephenson  carried  out  and  placed  on  top  of  it. 


154  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

The  dogs  were  then  harnessed,  and  we  moved 
away. 

The  thermometer  was  forty-four  degrees  below 
zero  when  we  left  the  hut,  but  it  was  calm,  and 
the  moon  shone  with  a  splendid  light.  We  were 
weary  and  ready  to  faint  at  the  end  of  one  hour, 
how  then  could  we  endure  days  of  travel !  The 
sledge  was  a  poor  one,  the  runners,  the  best  our 
material  afforded,  were  rough,  and  the  dogs  could 
not  drag  the  sledge  without  two  of  us  pushed, 
which  we  did  in  turn.  We  had  thus  gone  about 
eight  miles  when  Stephenson  said  he  would  walk. 
This  we  refused  to  let  him  do,  knowing  his  ex 
treme  weakness.  But  soon  after  he  slid  off  the 
sledge.  Dr.  Hayes  assisted  him  to  rise,  and  sup 
ported  his  attempt  to  walk.  He  had  thus  gone 
about  a  mile  when  he  fell  and  fainted. 

Near  us  was  an  iceberg  in  whose  side  was  a 
recess  something  like  a  grotto.  Into  this  we  bore 
our  companion,  and  added  to  the  shelter  by  piling 
up  blocks  of  snow.  The  lamp  was  lighted  to  pre 
pare  him  hot  coffee.  For  some  time  he  remained 
insensible,  and  when  he  came  to  himself  he  begged 
us  to  leave  him  and  save  ourselves.  He  could 
never,  he  said,  reach  the  "  Advance,"  and  he 
might  as  well  die  then  as  at  a  later  hour. 

Go  without  Stephenson  we  would  not.  Go  with 
him  seemed  impossible.  In  fact  we  were  all  too 
weary  to  take  another  step,  so  we  concluded  to 
camp.  But  this,  after  unloading  our  sledge  and 
making  some  effort,  we  could  not  do.  We  had  no 
strength  to  make  a  hut,  and  we  were  already  bit- 


Drugged  Esquimo.  155 

ten  by  the  frost;  so  we  resolved  to  repack  the 
sledge  and  return  to  the  hut. 

All  arrived  at  the  hut  that  day,  but  ho\v  and 
exactly  at  what  time  we  did  not  know,  only  that 
some  were  an  hour  behind  others,  and  that  several 
finished  the  journey  by.  creeping  on  their  hands 
and  knees.  We  had  just  enough  consciousness 
left  to  bring  in  our  blankets  and  spread  them  on 
those  we  left  on  the  breck,  and  to  close  up  the 
hole  in  the  roof.  We  then  lay  down  and  slept 
through  uncounted  hours. 

When  we  awoke  it  was  nearly  noon.  Though 
hungry,  cold,  and  weak,  we  were  not  badly  frost 
bitten.  The  first  desirable  thing  was  a  fire.  The 
tinder-box  with  its  fixings  could  not  be  found. 
The  one  having  it  in  charge  remembered  it  was 
used  at  the  berg>  and  this  we  all  knew,  and  that 
was  all  any  one  knew  about  it.  Without  this  we 
could  have  no  fire.  Never  before  in  all  our  exi 
gencies  was  such  a  feeling  of  despair  expressed 
on  our  countenances.  In  this  plight  one  in  at 
tempting  to  walk  across  the  tent  struck  something 
with  his  foot.  We  all  knew  the  tinder-box  by  its 
rattle.  Our  lamp  was  soon  lighted,  coffee  ivas 
made,  and  half  of  our  meat  warmed.  The  other 
half  was  given  to  Petersen  and  Bonsall,  who 
started  immediately  to  go,  as  we  had  once  before 
planned,  to  the  brig,  while  the  rest  remained  in 
the  hut. 

Dr.  Hayes  and  Sontag  accompanied  them  to 
the  shore.  The  last  words  of  the  noble  Petersen 
:  If  we  ever  reach  the  ship  we  will  come 


156  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

back  to  you,  or  perish  in  the  attempt,  so  sure  as 
there  is  a  God  in  heaven." 

Four  days  passed,  after  our  companions  left 
us,  of  accumulating  misery.  The  hut  was  colder 
than  ever,  and  we  were  in  utter  darkness  the  most 
of  the  time  Our  food  was  now  scraps  of  old 
hide,  so  hard  that  the  dogs  had  refused  it. 

In  this  our  condition  of  absolute  starvation, 
three  hunters,  with  each  a  dog-team,  came  to  us 
from  Netlik,  one  of  whom  was  Kalutunah.  They 
entered  our  hut  with  only  two  small  pieces  of 
meat  in  their  hands,  enough  for  a  scanty  meal  for 
themselves.  We  appropriated  one  piece  to  our 
selves  without  ceremony.  The  visitors  frowned 
and  protested,  but  this  was  not  a  moment  with  us 
for  words.  We  soon  satisfied,  or  seemed  to  satisfy. 
them  by  presents,  and  both  pieces  were  soon 
steaming. 

Dr.  Hayes  renewed  his  proposal  for  the  Netlik 
people  to  carry  us  to  the  "Advance."  Kalutunah 
refused  curtly.  Would  they  let  teams  to  us  for 
that  purpose?  No!  The  spirit  of  the  refusal 
was,  We  wont  help  you.  We  know  you  must 
starve,  and  we  desire  you  to  do  so  that  we  may 
possess  your  goods.  It  was  evident  they  under 
stood  our  desperate  condition  perfectly. 

These  convictions  of  their  purposes  and  feel 
ings  were  confirmed  when  one  of  our  number 
found  buried  in  the  snow,  near  their  sledges, 
several  large  pieces  of  bear  and  walrus  meat. 
This  they  were  evidently  determined  we  should 
not  taste. 


Drugged  Esquimo.  157 

Kalutunah  did  not  pretend  that  destitution  or 
short  supplies  at  Netlik  made  a  journey  to  the 
brig  inconvenient,  but,  as  if  to  taunt  us,  said  that 
a  bear,  a  walrus,  and  three  seals  had  been  taken 
the  day  before. 

The  case  then,  as  we  saw  it,  stood  thus  :  Six 
civilized  men  must  die  because  three  savages, 
who  had  plenty,  choose  to  let  them,  that  they 
might  be  benefited  by  their  death.  We  at  once 
and  unanimously  decided  that  it  should  not  be  so, 
and  that  the  Esquimo  should  not  thus  leave  us. 

Not  willing  to  do  them  unnecessary  harm,  Dr. 
Hayes  proposed  to  give  them  a  dose  of  opium ; 
then  to  take  the  dogs  and  sledge  and  push  for 
ward  to  Northumberland  Island,  leaving  them  to 
come  along  at  their  leisure  when  they  awoke.  We 
could,  we  thought,  push  forward  fast  enough  to  be 
out  of  the  reach  of  any  alarm  that  might  reach 
Netlik. 

To  this  proposal  all  agreed.  To  carry  it  into 
execution  we  became  specially  sociable,  and  free 
with  our  presents.  To  crown  the  freeness  of  our 
hospitality  we  set  before  them  the  stew  just  pre 
pared,  into  which  Dr.  Hayes  had  turned  slyly  when 
it  was  over  the  fire  a  small  vial  of  laudanum.  To 
prevent  any  one  getting  an  over  dose  it  had  been 
turned  out  into  three  vessels,  an  equal  portion  for 
each.  It  was,  of  course,  very  bitter. 

They  at  first  swallowed  it»very  greedily,  but 
tasting  the  bitter  ingredient  only  ate  half  of  it. 

The  next  few  moments  were  those  of  intense 
anxiety.  Would  it  stupefy  them  ?  Soon,  however, 


158  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

their  eyes  looked  heavy,  and  their  heads  drooped. 
They  begged  to  lie  down,  and  we  tucked  them  up 
this  time  in  our  blankets. 

We  were  in  our  traveling  suits  ready  for  a  start, 
dog-whips  at  hand.  As  a  last  act  Godfrey  reached 
up  to  a  shelf  for  a  cup,  and  down  came  its  entire 
contents  with  a  startling  noise.  Dr.  Hayes  put 
out  the  light  with  his  mitten,  and  cuddled  down 
instantly  by  the  side  of  Kalutunah.  The  chief 
awoke,  as  was  feared,  grunted,  and  asked  what  was 
the  matter.  The  "  doctee  "  patted  him  and  whis 
pered,  "Singikok,"  (sleep.)  He  laughed,  mut 
tered  something,  and  was  soon  snoring. 

Fearing  from  this  incident  that  we  could  not 
trust  the  soundness  nor  length  of  time  of  their 
sleep,  we  carried  off  their  boots,  coats,  and  mit 
tens,  that  they  might  be  detained  in  the  tent  until 
relief  came.  Stephenson  was,  most  fortunately, 
better  than  he  had  been  for  some  time,  being  able 
to  carry  a  gun  and  walk.  All  the  firearms  being 
secured,  Dr.  Hayes  stood  at  one  side  of  the  door 
outside  with  a  double-barrelled  shot-gun,  and 
Stephenson  on  the  other  with  a  rifle.  The  pur 
pose  was  if  they  awoke  to  compel  them,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  guns,  to  drive  us  north. 

Sontag  and  the  others  brought  up  the  most  of 
the  meat  which  was  buried  in  the  snow,  and  put  it 
in  the  passage  way.  This  would,  last  five  or  six 
days,  and  keep  tht  prisoners  from  starving  until 
help  came.  The  dogs  being  harnessed,  we  mount 
ed  the  sledges  and  once  more  turned  our  backs 
on  Fort  Desolation. 


Drugged  Esquimo.  159 

The  dogs  objected  decidedly  to  this  whole  pro 
ceeding;  they  especially  disliked  their  new  mas 
ters,  and  were  determined  on  mischief.  John  and 
Godfrey  were  given  by  their  team  a  ride  a  mile 
straight  off  the  coast  instead  of  along-side  of  it,  as 
they  desired  to  go.  Dr.  Hayes  was  worse  used 
by  his.  They  drew  in  different  directions,  went 
pell-mell,  first  this  way,  then  that,  at  one  time  car 
rying  him  back  nearly  to  the  hut.  Finally  they 
became  subdued  apparently,  and  sped  swiftly  in 
the  way  they  were  guided.  The  other  sledges  had 
in  the  mean  time  dropped  into  the  desired  course. 
All  seemed  to  be  going  well,  when,  just  as  the 
doctor's  dogs  had  shot  by  the  other  teams,  they 
suddenly  turned  round,  some  to  the  right  and 
others  to  the  left,  turning  the  sledge  over  back 
ward,  and  rolling  the  men  into  a  snow-drift.  The 
doctor  grasped  firmly  the  "  up-stander "  of  the 
sledge,  and  was  dragged  several  yards  before  he 
recovered  his  feet.  As  the  dogs  at  this  moment 
were  plunging  through  a  ridge  of  hummocks,  the 
point  of  the  runner  caught  a  block  of  ice.  The 
traces  of  all  the  dogs  excepting  two  snapped, 
and  away  went  the  freed  dogs  to  their  imprisoned 
masters.  They  yelped  a  taunting  defiance  as  they 
disappeared  in  the  distance. 

The  doctor  and  Mr.  Stephenson,  taking  each  a 
dog,  went  to  the  Nother  teams,  and  we  were  again 
on  the  fly,  leaving  the  third  sledge  jammed  in  the 
hummock.  We  reached  in  safety  the  southern 
point  of  Cape  Parry,  found  a  sheltering  cave,  and 
camped. 


160  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

BACK  AGAIN. 

WE  tarried  in  our  camp  full  two  hours.  We 
obtained  a  pot  of  hot  coffee  and  rest.  The 
whips  had  been  used  so  freely  that  they  required 
repairing,  for  without  their  efficient  help  there 
could  be  no  progress. 

All  being  in  readiness,  we  were  about  starting 
when  three  Esquimo  came  in  sight.  They  were 
those  we  had  left  asleep  in  our  hut !  Dr.  Hayes 
and  Mr.  Sontag  seized  their  guns,  and  rushed 
down  the  ice-foot  to  meet  them.  They  stood 
firm  until  our  men,  coming  within  a  few  yards, 
leveled  their  guns  at  them.  They  instantly  turned 
round  and  threw  their  arms  wildly  about,  exclaim 
ing  in  a  frantic  voice,  "  Na-mik !  na-mik !  na-mik !  " 
— don't  shoot!  don't  shoot!  don't  shoot! 

Dr.  Hayes  lowered  his  rifle  and  beckoned  them 
to  come  on.  This  they  did  cautiously,  and  with 
loud  protestations  of  friendship.  By  this  time 
Whipple  had  come  up.  Each  of  our  men  seized 
a  prisoner,  and  marched  him  into  the  camp. 
Reaching  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  the  doctor  turned 
Kalutunah  round  toward  his  sledge,  pointed  to  it 
with  his  gun,  and  then  turning  north,  gave  him  to 
understand,  mostly  by  signs,  that  if  he  took  the 
whip  which  lay  at  his  feet,  and  drove  us  to  the 


Back  Again.  161 

"  Ooraeaksoak  "  (ship)  he  should  have  his  dogs, 
sledge,  coat,  boots,  and  mittens ;  but  if  they  did 
not  do  so  that  he  and  his  companions  would  be 
shot  then  and  there ;  and  to  give  emphasis  to 
his  words,  he  pushed  him  away  and  leveled  his 
gun. 

The  chief  went  sideling  off,  crying,  "  Na-mik, 
na-mik  !  "  at  the  same  time  imitated  the  motion 
of  a  dog — driving  with  his  right  hand,  and  pointed 
north  with  the  other.  His  declaration  was,  "  Don't 
shoot !  I'll  drive  you  to  the  ship  !  " 

Dr.  Hayes  seeing  he  was  understood,  told  Kalu- 
tunah  that  the  dogs  and  sledges  were  the  white 
men's  until  the  promise  was  fulfilled,  to  which  he 
answered,  "  tyma  " — all  right,  approaching  with 
smiles  and  the  old  familiarity,  as  though  some  great 
favor  had  been  done  him.  He  could  respect  pluck 
and  strength  if  nothing  else. 

The  prisoners  had  been  awakened  by  our  es 
caped  dogs,  which,  on  arriving  at  the  hut,  run  over 
the  roof  and  howled  a  startling  alarm.  Their  mas 
ters  starting  up,  found  means  of  lighting  a  lamp,  and 
being  refreshed  by  sleep  and  the  food  we  left,  en 
tered  at  once  on  the  pursuit.  Coming  to  the  aban 
doned  sledge,  they  harnessed  the  dogs  and  made 
good  time  on  our  trail,  bringing  away  with  them  as 
many  of  our  treasures  as  they  could  well  carry. 

They  were  rare  looking  Esquimo  just  at  this 
moment.  They  had  cut  holes  in  the  middle  of 
our  blankets  and  thrust  their  heads  through.  One 
had  found  a  pair  of  cast-off  boots  and  put  them 
on ;  the  others  had  bundled  their  feet  up  in  pieces 


1 62  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

of  blanket.  Neither  of  them  had  suffered  much 
from  cold. 

We  expressed  our  confidence  in  their  promises 
by  restoring  their  clothes.  They  jumped  into 
them,  happy  as  Yankee  children  on  the  Fourth  of 
July.  They  were  as  obedient,  too,  as  recently 
whipped  spaniels.  They  touched  neither  dogs, 
sledge,  nor  whip  until  they  were  bidden.  "  On 
ward  to  Netlik !  "  we  shouted  as  we  mounted  our 
sledges  and  dashed  away.  Our  distant  approach 
was  greeted  by  the  howling  of  a  pack  of  dogs, 
which  snuffed  our  coming  in  the  breeze.  As  we 
drew  nearer,  men,  women,  and  children  ran  out 
to  meet  us.  As  soon  as  we  halted  fifty  curious 
and  wondering  savages  crowded  around  us,  press 
ing  the  questions  why  we  were  brought  by  their 
friends,  and  why  we  came  at  all.  But  our  bearing 
was  that  of  those  who  came  because  they  pleased 
to  come  without  condescending  to  give  reasons 
why.  We  told  Kalutunah  that  three  of  us  would 
go  to  each  of  the  two  huts,  and  stop  long  enough 
to  eat  and  sleep,  and  then  we  would  continue  our 
journey.  A  renewed  leveling  at  him  of  our  guns, 
and  pointing  northward,  brought  out  the  prompt 
"  tyma,"  giving  the  gaping  bystanders  a  hint  of  the 
nature  of  our  arguments  for  the  services  of  their 
friends. 

When  we  had  entered  the  huts,  the  crowd  rushed 
in  too,  making  quite  too  many  for  comfort  or  safety. 
We  told  our  hosts  to  order  out  all  but  the  regular 
occupants  of  the  huts,  as  many  strangers  had  come 
in  who  were  lodging  in  the  adjoining  snow-huts. 


Back  Again.  163 

They  did  not  understand  our  right  to  give  such  a 
command  until  a  hint  about  our  "  booms  "  con 
vinced  them.  Ours  was  the  right  of  self-preserva 
tion  by  superior  strength. 

We  had  traveled  fifteen  successive  hours,  mak 
ing  in  the  time  fifty  miles.  So  weary  were  we  that 
even  these  Esquimo  dens,  affording  as  they  did  re^ 
freshment  and  rest  without  danger  of  freezing, 
were  delightful  places  of  entertainment.  The 
women  kindly  removed  our  mittens,  boots,  and 
stockings,  and  hung  them  up  to  dry.  They  then 
brought  us  frozen  meat,  which  intense  hunger 
compelled  us  to  try  to  eat,  but  the  air  of  the  hut 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees  warmer  than 
that  without,  and  we  fell  asleep  with  the  food 
between  our  teeth.  Having  taken  a  short  nap  we 
were  aroused  by  the  mistress  of  the  house,  who 
had  prepared  a  plentiful  meal  of  steaming  bear- 
steak.  We  ate  and  slept  alternately  until  the  stars 
informed  us  that  we '  had  rested  twenty-seven 
hours.  We  intimated  to  Kalutunah  that  we  would 
be  going,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  had  every 
thing  in  readiness. 

Our  next  halting  place  was  Northumberland  Isl 
and,  a  distance,  as  we  traveled,  of  thirty  miles, 
which  we  made  in  six  hours.  Here  we  found  two 
huts  belonging  to  our  old  friends,  Amalatok  and 
his  brother,  "  Mr.  Rock."  We  divided  ourselves 
into  companies  of  threes  as  before,  and  made  our 
selves  at  home  in  the  two  households.  Mr.  Rock, 
aided  by  his  wife,  and  the  witch-wife  of  his  broth 
er,  was  kindly  attentive.  Our  fare  was  varied 


164  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

by  abundant  supplies  of  sea-birds,  which  in  their 
season  swarm  here.  We  tarried  until  our  physical 
strength  was  sensibly  increased.  We  learned  that 
Petersen  and  Bonsall  had  been  at  this  hospitable 
halting-place,  eaten  and  rested,  and  pushed  north 
ward  under  the  guidance  of  Amalatok. 

Our  next  run  was  to  Herbert  Island,  and,  pass 
ing  round  its  northwestern  coast,  we  struck  across 
to  the  mainland,  and  halted  near  Cape  Robertson, 
at  the  village  of  Karsooit.  We  were  on  the  north 
ern  shore  of  the  mouth  of  Whale  Sound.  We  had 
made  a  run  of  fifty  miles,  halting  to  eat  our  frozen 
food  only  once.  We  had  walked  much  of  the 
way  to  prevent  being  frozen,  and  to  lighten  the 
load  of  the  dogs  over  a  rough  way. 

The  village  consisted  of  two  huts  half  a  mile 
apart.  One  of  them  belonged  to  Sipsu,  our  old 
enemy.  He  received  us  gruffly,  and  because 
he  felt  that  he  must.  His  only  kindness  was  a 
fear  of  our  booms.  The  huts  were  crowded,  there 
being  here,  as  at  Netlik,  many  stranger  visitors  from 
the  south.  We  were  almost  suffocated  on  entering, 
passing  as  we  did  from  a  temperature  of  fifty  de 
grees  below  zero  to  one  seventy-five  above.  Our 
entertainers  immediately  laid  hold  of  our  clothes 
and  began  to  strip  us.  They  were  much  surprised 
at  our  persistence  in  retaining  a  certain  part  of 
them.  We  feasted  on  seal  flesh,  slept,  were  re 
freshed  and  encouraged. 

Our  stay  was  short,  and  our  next  run  was  to  a 
double  hut,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  which  we 
made  in  five  hours.  We  had  been  joined  at  Kar- 


Back  Again.  165 

sooit  by  an  old  hunter  named  Ootinah.  We  were 
on  four  sledges,  the  dogs  were  in  good  condition, 
the  ice  smooth,  the  drivers  full  of  merriment  and 
shouts  of  "  Ka !  ka  !  "  by  which  their  teams  were 
stimulated  onward. 

Our  next  run  was  to  be  one  of  sixty  miles,  in 
cluding  the  rounding  of  Cape  Alexander,  and  end 
ing  at  Etah.  It  was  to  be  a  terrific  adventure  we 
well  knew.  At  the  mention  of  it  our  drivers 
shrugged  their  shoulders.  The  natives  dread  the 
storms  of  this  cape,  with  their  blinding  snows,  as  the 
wandering  Arabs  of  the  desert  do  a  tempest-cloud 
of  sand. 

The  first  twenty  miles  was  made  comfortably. 
But  we  were  yet  many  miles  from  the  rocky  for 
tress  guarding  the  Arctic  Sea,  when  we  were  saluted 
with  a  stunning  squall.  It  cut  us  terribly,  though 
it  was  but  an  eddy,  for  the  wind  was  at  our  backs ; 
it  was  only  a  rough  hint  of  what  we  might  expect 
when  the  giant  of  the  cape  sent  his  blast  squarely 
in  our  faces.  The  night  came  on,  lighted  only  by 
the  twinkling  stars.  The  ice  was  smooth,  and  the 
wind  at  our  backs  drove  our  sledges  upon  the 
heels  of  the  dogs,  who  ran  howling  at  the  top  of 
their  speed  to  keep  out  of  their  way.  The  cliffs,  a 
thousand  feet  above  us,  threw  their  frowning  shad 
ows  across  our  path,  pouring  upon  the  plain  clouds 
of  snow  sand,  and  shouting  in  the  roaring  wind 
their  defiance  at  our  approach.  Yet  we  sped 
swiftly  on,  until  a  dark  line  was  seen  ahead  with 
wreaths  of  "  frost-smoke  "  curling  over  it,  "  Emerk ! 
emerk  !  "  shouted  the  Esquimo.  "  Water  !  water !  " 
11 


*66  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

echoed  our  men.  Our  teams  "  reined  up  "  within 
a  few  yards  of  a  recently  opened  crack,  now  twenty 
feet  across  and  rapidly  widening.  We  were  quite 
near  Cape  Alexander,  but  between  it  and  us  was 
ice,  across  which  numerous  cracks  had  opened. 
Against  the  cape  was  open  water,  whose  sullen 
surges  fell  dismally  upon  our  ears.  It  was  plain 
that  we  could  not  go  forward  upon  the  floe ;  to 
mount  the  almost  perpendicular  wall  to  the  land 
above  was  impossible ;  to  turn  back  and  thus  face 
the  storm  would  be  certain  death.  Our  case 
seemed  desperate.  Even  the  hardy  Esquimo 
shrunk  at  the  situation  and  proposed  the  return 
trail,  against  which  to  us,  at  least,  ruinous  course 
they  couki  not  be  persuaded  until  the  pistol  argu 
ment  was  used. 

In  our  peering  through  the  darkness  for  some 
way  of  escape  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  narrow 
ice-foot,  hanging  over  the  water  at  the  bottom  of 
the  cliff.  Along  this  we  determined  to  attempt  a 
passage. 

We  ascended  this  ice-foot  by  a  ladder  made  of 
the  sledges.  Then  we  ran  along  the  smooth  sur 
face  and  soon  passed  the  open  water  below  ;  but 
we  had  advanced  a  short  distance  only  before  a 
glacier  barred  our  progress  and  turned  us  to  the 
floe  again.  A  short  run  on  this  brought  us  to 
another  yawning  crack  with  its  impassable  water. 
We  ran  along  its  margin  with  torturing  anxiety, 
looking  for  an  ice  bridge.  Finding  a  place  where 
a  point  of  ice  spanne:d  the  chasm,  within  about 
four  feet,  Dr.  Hayes  made  a  desperate  leap  to  gain 


Back  Again.  167 

the  other  side.  Lighting  upon  this  point,  it  proved 
to  be  merely  a  loose,  small  ice-raft  which  settled 
beneath  his  feet.  Endeavoring  to  balance  himself 
upon  it  to  gain  the  solid  floe  beyond  he  fell  back 
ward,  and  would  have  gone  completely  under  the 
water ;  but  Stephenson,  standing  on  the  spot  from 
which  the  doctor  jumped,  caught  him  under  the 
arms  and  drew  him  out.  As  it  was  he  had  sunk 
deep  into  the  cold  stream,  filling  his  boots  and 
wetting  his  pants. 

In  the  mean  time  a  better  crossing  was  found, 
and  Dr.  Hayes  followed  the  last  of  the  party  to 
the  other  side. 

We  returned  to  the  ice-foot  and  found  a  level 
and  sufficiently  wide  drive-way,  and  made  good 
progress,  soon  reaching  and  running  along  that 
part  of  the  icy  road  which  overlooked  the  open 
water  below.  We  met  with  no  interruption  until 
we  came  to  the  extreme  rocky  projection  of  the 
cape.  Here  the  ice-foot  was  sloping,  and  for  sev 
eral  feet  was  only  fifteen  inches  wide  !  Twenty 
feet  directly  below  was  the-  icy  cold,  dark  water, 
sending  up  its  dismal  roar  as  it  waited  to  receive 
any  whose  foot  might  slip  in  attempting  the  peril 
ous  passage.  The  wind  howled  fearfully  as  it 
swept  over  the  cliff  and  along  the  ice-foot  in  our 
rear,  pelting  us  incessantly  with  its  snow  sand. 

"Halt!"  was  passed  along  the  line,  and  the 
whole  party,  men  and  dogs,  crouched  under  the 
overhanging  rocks,  seeming  for  the  moment  like 
beings  doomed  to  die  a  miserable  death  in  a  horrid 
place. 


1 68  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

There  was  no  time  for  indecision,  and  the  pause 
was  but  for  a  moment.  Dr.  Hayes,  taking  off  his 
mittens,  and  clinging  with  his  bare  hands  to  the  crev 
ices  of  the  rock,  was  the  first  to  make  the  desperate 
experiment.  His  shout  announcing  his  safe  land 
ing  on  the  broad  belt  beyond  the  dangerous  place, 
welling  up  as  it  did  from  a  heart  overflowing  with 
emotions  of  joy  and  gratitude,  sent  a  thrill  of  glad 
ness  along  the  shivering  and  shrinking  line,  of 
which  even  our  poor  dogs  seemed  to  partake. 

The  teams,  each  driven  by  its  master,  were  next 
brought  up,  as  near  as  safety  permitted,  to  the  nar 
row,  slippery  pathway.  The  dogs  were  then 
seized  by  their  collars,  and  one  by  one  dragged 
across  safely.  Next  the  sledges  were  brought  for 
ward.  Turning  them  upon  one  runner,  they  were 
pushed  along  until  the  dogs  could  make  them  feel 
the  traces ;  then  a  fierce  shout  from  their  drivers 
caused  a  sudden  and  vigorous  spring  of  the  ani 
mals,  which  whirled  the  sledges  beyond  the  danger 
of  sliding  off  the  precipice.  Cautiously,  one  by 
one,  then  came  the  remaining  members  of  the  par 
ty,  all  holding  their  breath  in  painful  suspense,  and 
each,  we  trust,  in  silent  prayer,  until  all  were  safe 
over.  The  Divine  arm  and  eye  had  been  with  us  ! 
We  could  not  have  gone  back,  nor  have  turned  to 
the  right  or  left.  A  few  inches  less  of  width  in* 
the  ice-foot,  or  slightly  more  slope,  and  we  had  all 
perished  ! 

Except  some  frost  bites  on  our  fingers,  every 
man  was  all  right.  We  had  traveled  five  miles  on 
the  ice  shelf  above  the  foaming  sea.  We  now  had 


Back  Again.  169 

a  smooth,  safe  ice-foot,  which  conducted  us  soon  to 
the  solid  ice-field  of  Etah  Bay.  Across  this,  fif 
teen  miles,  we  scampered  with  joyous  speed,  and 
arrived  at  the  village  of  our  old  Esquimo  friends, 
a  worn  and  weary,  but  thankful  party. 

Good  news  met  us  at  the  hut.  Petersen  and 
Bonsall  had,  we  were  told,  preceded  us,  and  ar 
rived  safely  at  the  ship. 

But  our  trials  were  not  ended.  There  was  a 
sledge  journ-ey  of  ninety-one  miles  yet  awaiting  us. 
Dr.  Hayes's  frosted  feet  gave  him  intense  pain  and 
he  could  not  sleep.  There  was  danger,  if  the  heat 
of  the  hut  thawed  them,  that  he  would  lose  them 
altogether.  So,  after  only  four  hours'  rest,  he 
whispered  his  intention  of  a  speedy  departure  to 
ward  the  "Advance,"  to  Sontag,  who  was  to  take 
charge  of  the  party ;  he  then  crept  stealthily  out 
of  the  hut,  accompanied  by  Ootinah,  the  faithful 
Esquimo  from  Karsooit.  Sontag  was  not  to  men 
tion  his  departure  to  his  comrades  until  they  were 
rested  and  refreshed. 

He  had  hardly  started  before  the  rest  of  our 
company  were  at  his  heels.  They  did  not  wish 
their  leader  to  endure  the  perils  of  the  journey 
without  them ;  besides,  they  too  had  reason  for  a 
desire  to  be  speedily  at  the  brig. 

The  wind  was  high,  the  floe  full  of  hummocks, 
the  cold  intense,  and  altogether  the  journey  was 
not  unlike  in  its  dangers  that  already  endured. 
Whipple,  ere  they  had  reached  the  end,  began  to 
whisper  that  he  was  not  cold,  and  finally  fell  from 
the  rear  sledge,  benumbed  and  senseless,  and  was 


170  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

not  missed  until  he  was  a  hundred  yards  behind. 
He  was  lifted  again  to  the  sledge,  but  others  gave 
signs  of  the  approach  of  the  same  insensibility. 

But  the  track  becoming  smoother,  the  drivers 
cracked  their  whips  and  shouted  fiercely,  goading 
onward  their  teams  to  their  utmost  speed  in  the 
fearful  race  for  life.  Now  old  familiar  landmarks 
are  passed ;  the  hull  of  the  dismantled  ship  opens 
in  the  distance,  and  its  outlines  grow  clearer 
until  we  shout  with  feeble  voices,  but  in  glad 
ness  of  heart,  "  Back  again ! "  During  the  last 
forty  hours  we  had  been  in  almost  continual  ex 
posure,  with  the  thermometer  eighty  degrees  be 
low  zero,  in  which  time  we  had  traveled  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  miles.  During  the  run  of  ninety- 
one  miles  from  Etah  to  the  "Advance"  we  en 
camped  once  only,  but  failing  to  light  our  lamp, 
or  to  secure  any  protection  from  the  cold,  we  im 
mediately  decamped  and  finished  our  run  of  forty- 
one  miles. 


Scares.  171 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

SCARES. 

WHEN  the  Esquimo  arrived  with  Bonsall 
and  Petersen,  Dr.  Kane  resolved  at  once 
to  send  them  back  with  supplies  for  the  remain 
ing  portion  of  Dr.  Hayes's  company,  supposed  to 
be,  if  living,  at  the  miserable  old  hut.  Petersen 
and  Bonsall  were  utterly  unable  to  accompany 
them.  Of  the  scanty  ship's  store  he  caused  to  be 
cleaned  and  boiled  a  hundred  pounds  of  pork ; 
small  packages  of  meat-biscuit,  bread-dust,  and 
tea  were  carefully  sewed  up,  all  weighing  three 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds;  and  the  whole  was 
intrusted  to  the  returning  convoy,  who  gave  em 
phatic  assurances  that  these  treasures,  more  pre 
cious  than  gold  to  those  for  whom  they  were  in 
tended,  should  be  promptly  and  honestly  deliv 
ered.  But  this  promise,  we  have  seen,  they  did 
not  keep,  and,  probably,  did  not  intend  to  keep ; 
they  ate  or  wasted  the  whole.  This  untrustworthy 
trait  of  the  Esquimo  character  goes  far  to  show 
that  nothing  but  Dr.  Hayes's  "  boom  "  could  have 
assured  their  help  in  his  desperate  necessities. 

When  Dr.  Hayes  arrived  it  was  midnight.  Dr. 
Kane  met  him  at  the  gangway  and  gave  him  a 
brother's  welcome.  All  were  taken  at  once  into 
the  cabin.  Ohlsen  was  the  first  to  recognize 


172  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Hayes  as  he  entered,  and,  kissing  him,  he  threw 
his  arms  around  him  and  tossed  him  into  the  warm 
bed  he  had  just  left.  The  fire  was  set  ablaze, 
coffee  and  meat-biscuit  soup  were  prepared,  and, 
with  wheat  bread  and  molasses,  were  set  before 
them.  In  the  mean  time  their  Esquimo  apparel 
was  removed  and  hung  up  to  dry.  They  ate  and 
slept ;  but  many  weary  days  passed,  under  skillful 
treatment  by  Dr.  Kane,  and  kind  care  by  all,  be 
fore  they  fully  recovered  from  the  strain  of  their 
terrible  exposures  and  fearful  journey. 

When  the  returned  comrades  were  duly  cared 
for,  Dr.  Kane  turned  his  attention  to  the  concilia 
tion  of  the  Esquimo  who  had  accompanied  them 
back.  They,  of  course,  had  their  complaints  to 
make,  and,  may  be,  meditated  revenge,  though 
they  were,  as  usual,  full  of  smiles.  It  was  the 
white  chief's  policy  to  impress  them  with  his  great 
power  and  stern  justice.  He  assembled  both  par 
ties,  the  Hayes  men  and  their  Esquimo,  in  con 
ference  on  deck.  Both  were  questioned  as  if  it 
were  a  doubt  who  had  been  the  offenders.  This 
done,  he  graciously  declared  to  the  savage  mem 
bers  of  the  council  his  approval  of  their  conduct, 
which  he  made  emphatic,  in  the  Esquimo  way,  by 
pulling  their  hair  all  around. 

The  great  Nalekok  having  thus  expressed  his 
good  will,  showed  it  still  further  by  introducing 
his  guests,  now  to  be  considered  friends,  into  the 
mysterious  igloe  below  where  they  had  not  before 
been  permitted  to  enter.  Their  joy  was  that  of 
indulged  children  during  a  holiday.  They  were 


Scares.  1 73 

seated  in  state  on  a  red  blanket.  Four  pork-fat 
lamps  burned  brilliantly ;  ostentatiously  paraded 
were  old  worsted  damask  curtains,  hunting  knives, 
rifles,  chronometers,  and  beer-barrels,  which,  as 
they  glowed  in  the  light,  astonished  the  natives. 
With  a  princely  air,  which,  no  doubt,  seemed  to 
the  recipients  almost  divine,  he  dealt  out  to  each 
five  needles,  a  file,  and  a  stick  of  wood.  To  the 
two  head  men,  Kalutunah  and  Shunghu,  knives 
and  other  extras  were  given.  A  roaring  fire  was 
then  made  and  a  feast  cooked.  This  eaten,  buffa 
loes  were  spread  about  the  stove,  and  the  guests 
slept.  They  awoke  to  eat,  and  ate  to  sleep  again. 
When  they  were  ready  to  go,  the  white  chief  ex 
plained  that  the  sledges,  dogs,  and  some  furs, 
which  his  men  had  taken,  had  been  taken  to  save 
life,  and  were  not  to  be  considered  as  stolen 
goods,  and  he  then  and  there  restored  them. 
They  laughed,  voted  him  in  their  way  a  good  fel 
low,  and,  in  fine  spirits,  dashed  away,  shouting  to 
their  wolfish  dogs.  They  had  taken  special  care, 
however,  to  add  to  the  treasures  so  generously 
given,  a  few  stolen  knives  and  forks. 

As  the  whole  company  are  now  crowded  into 
the  little  cabin,  and  the  darkness  is  without,  so 
that  the  days  pass  without  much  incident,  except 
that  all  are  crowded  with  heavy  burdens  upon  mind 
and  body,  we  will  listen  to  a  few  of  the  yet  untold 
stories  of  the  earlier  winter. 

At  one  time  Dr.  Kane  attempted  a  walrus  hunt. 
Morton,  Hans,  Ootuniah,  Myouk,  and  "a  dark 
stranger,"  Awahtok,  accompanied  him.  He  took 


NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

a  light  sledge  drawn  by  seven  dogs,  intending  to 
reach  the  farthest  point  of  Force  Bay  by  day 
light.  But  as  the  persistency  of  the  Esquimo  had 
overladen  the  sledge,  they  moved  slowly,  and  were 
overtaken  by  the  night  on  the  floe  in  the  midst  of 
the  bay.  The  snow  began  to  drift  before  an  in 
creasing  storm.  While  driving  rapidly,  they  lost 
the  track  they  had  been  following;  they  could  see 
no  landmarks,  and  in  their  confusion,  turned  their 
faces  to  the  floating  ice  of  the  sound. 

The  Esquimo,  usually  at  home  on  the  floe, 
whether  by  night  or  by  day,  were  quite  bewildered. 
The  dogs  became  alarmed,  and  spread  their  panic 
to  the  whole  party.  They  could  not  camp,  the 
wind  blew  so  fiercely,  so  they  were  compelled  to 
push  rapidly  forward,  they  knew  not  whither. 
Checking,  after  a  while,  their  speed,  Dr.  Kane 
gave  each  a  tent-pole  to  feel  their  way  more  cau 
tiously,  for  a  murmur  had  reached  his  ear  more 
alarming  than  the  roar  of  the  wind.  Suddenly 
the  noise  of  waves  startled  him.  "  Turn  the 
"dogs !  "  he  shouted,  while  at  the  same  moment  a 
wreath  of  frost  smoke,  cold  and  wet,  swept  over 
the  whole  party,  and  the  sea  opened  to  them  with 
its  white  line  of  foam,  about  one  fourth  of  a  mile 
ahead.  The  floe  was  breaking  up  by  the  force  of 
the  storm.  The  broken  ice  might  be  in  any  direc 
tion.  They  could  now  guess  where  they  were, 
and  they  turned  their  faces  toward  an  island  up 
the  bay.  But  the  line  of  the  sea,  with  its  foaming 
waves,  followed  them  so  rapidly  that  they  began  to 
feel  the  ice  bending  under  their  feet  as  they  ran 


Scares.  175 

at  the  sides  of  the  sledge.  The  hummocks  before 
them  began  to  close  up,  and  they  run  by  them  at 
a  fearful  risk  as  they  hurried  cautiously  forward, 
stumbling  over  the  crushed  fragments  between 
them  and  the  shore.  It  was  too  dark  to  see  the 
island  for  which  they  were  steering,  but  the  black 
outline  of  a  lofty  cape  was  dimly  seen  along  the 
horizon,  and  served  as  a  landmark.  As  they  ap 
proached  the  shore  edge  of  the  floe  they  found  it 
broken  up,  and  its  fragments  surging  against  the 
base  of  the  ice-foot  to  which  they  desired  to 
climb.  Being  now  under  the  shadow  of  the  land, 
it  was  densely  dark.  Dr.  Kane  went  ahead,  grop 
ing  for  a  bridge  of  ice,  having  a  rope  tied  round 
his  waist,  the  other  end  of  which  was  held  by 
Ootuniah,  who  followed,  at  whose  heels  came  the 
rest  of  the  party.  The  doctor  finally  succeeded 
in  clambering  upon  the  ice-foot,  and  the  rest  one 
after  another  followed  with  the  dogs. 

The  joy  of  their  escape  broke  out  into  exulta 
tion  when  they  ascertained  that  the  land  was 
Anoatok,  only  a  short  distance  from  the  familiar 
Esquimo  huts.  God  had  guided  them  with  his 
all-seeing  eye  to  where  they  would  find  needed 
refreshment !  In  less*  than  an  hour  they  were 
feasting  on  a  smoking  stew  of  walrus  meat. 

Having  eaten  their  stew  and  drank  their  coffee 
they  slept — slept  eleven  hours!  Well  they  might 
"  after  an  unbroken  ice-walk  of  forty-eight  miles, 
and  twenty  haltless  hours  !  "  The  Esquimo  sung 
themselves  to  sleep  with  a  monotonous  song,  in 
compliment  to  the  white  chief,  the  refrain  of  which 


1 76  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

was,  "  Nalegak  !  nalegak  !  nalegak !  soak !  " — Cap 
tain  !  captain  !  great  captain  !  " 

Without  further  special  incident  the  party  re 
turned  to  the  brig. 

At  one  time  an  alarm  was  brought  to  Dr.  Kane 
that  a  wolf  was  prowling  among  the  meat  barrels 
on  the  floe.  Believing  that  a  wolf  would  be  more 
profitably  added  to  their  store  of  meat  than  to 
have  him  take  any  thing  from  it,  he  seized  a  rifle 
and  ran  out.  Yes,  there  he  is,  a  wolf  from  the  tip 
of  his  nose  to  the  end  of  bis  tail !  Bang  goes  the 
rifle,  whiz  goes  the  ball,  making  the  hair  fly  from 
the  back  of — one  of  the  sledge-dogs!  He  was 
not  hurt  much,  but  he  came  near  paying  with  his 
life  for  the  crime  of  running  away  from  Morton's 
sledge. 

The  fox-traps  made  occasion  for  many  long 
walks,  great  expectations  of  game,  and  grievous 
disappointment.  Dr.  Kane  and  Hans  were  at  one 
time  examining  them  about  two  miles  from  the 
brig.  They  were,  unfortunately,  unarmed.  The 
doctor  thought  he  heard  the  bellow  of  a  walrus. 
They  listened.  No,  not  a  walrus,  but  a  bear! 
Hark,  hear  him  roar !  They  sprung  to  the  ice 
foot,  about  ten  feet  above  the  floe.  Another  roar, 
round  and  full !  He  is  drawing  nearer  !  He  has 
a  fine  voice,  and,  no  doubt,  is  large,  and  fat,  and 
savory !  But  then  a  bear  must  be  killed  before 
he  is  eaten,  and  that  is  just  where  the  difficulty 
lies.  It  don't  do  for  two  men  to  run,  for  that  is 
an  invited  pursuit,  and  bears  are  good  runners. 
"  Hans  !  "  exclaimed  Dr.  Kane,  "  run  for  the  brig,. 


Scares.  177 

and  I  will  play  decoy !  "  Hans  is  a  good  runner, 
and  this  time  he  did  "his  level  best." 

Dr.  Kane  remains  on  the  ice-foot  alone.  It  is 
too  dark  to  see  many  yards  off,  and  the  silence  is 
oppressive,  for  the  bear  says  nothing,  and  so  Kane 
makes  no  reply.  He  queries  whether,  after  all, 
there  is  any  bear.  How  easy  it  is  for  the  imagi 
nation  to  be  excited  amid  these  shadowy  hum 
mocks,  and  this  dreary  waste  through  which  the 
wind  roars  so  dismally !  He  gets  down  from  his 
comparatively  safe  elevation  upon  the  floe,  puts 
his  hand  over  his  eyes,  and  peers  into  the  darkness. 
No  bear  after  all !  But  what's  that  rounded,  shad 
owy  thing?  Stained  ice?  Yes,  stained  ice  !  But 
the  stained  ice  speaks  with  a  voice  which  wakes 
the  Arctic  echoes,  and  charges  on  our  explorer. 
It  is  a  hungry  bear!  Dr.  Kane's  legs  are  scurvy- 
smitten  affairs,  but  this  time  they  credit  the  fleet- 
ness  of  those  of  the  deer.  He  drops  a  mitten,  and 
his  pursuer  stops  to  smell  of  it,  to  examine  it  care 
fully,  and  to  show  his  disgust  at  such  game,  by 
tearing  it  to  pieces.  These  bears  are  famous  for 
losing  the  bird  by  stopping  to  pick  up  his  feathers. 
The  man  stops  not,  but  drops  another  mitten  as 
he  flies.  Before  these  articles  are  duly  examined 
he  has  reached  the  brig.  Dr.  Kane  has  escaped, 
and  the  bear  has  lost  his  supper. 

It  is  now  bruin's  turn  to  run,  for  fresh  hunters 
and  loaded  rifles  are  after  him.  He  does  run,  and 
escapes ! 

But  if  there  were  fears  without  the  brig,  there 
were  fightings  with  a  fearful  enemy  within.  The 


178  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

crowded  condition  of  the  cabin,  after  the  Hayes 
party  returned,  made  it  necessary  for  the  pork-fat 
lamps  to  be  set  up  outside  the  avenue,  in  a  room 
parted  off  in  the  hold  for  their  use.  A  watch  was 
set  over  them,  but  he  deserted  his  post,  the  fat 
flamed  over  and  set  the  room  ablaze.  Eight  of 
the  men  lay  in  their  berths  at  the  time  helplessly 
disabled.  The  fire  was  only  a  few  feet  from  the 
tinder-like  moss  which  communicated  with  the 
cabin.  The  men  able  to  work  seized  buckets, 
and  formed  a  line  to  the  well  in  the  ice  always 
kept  open.  In  the  mean  time  Dr.  Kane  rushed 
into  the  flames  with  some  fur  robes  which  lay  at 
hand,  and  checked  it  for  the  moment.  The  water 
then  came,  and  the  first  bucket  full  thrown  caused 
a  smoke  and  steam  which  prostrated  him.  For 
tunately,  in  falling  he  struck  the  feet  of  the  fore 
most  bucket-man.  He  was  taken  to  the  deck,  his 
beard,  forelock,  and  eyebrows  singed  away,  and 
sad  burns  upon  his  forehead  and  palms.  Nearly 
all  received  burns  and  frost-bites,  but  in  a  half 
hour  the  fire  was  extinguished.  The  danger  was 
horrid,  and  the  escape  wonderful !  Neither  wild 
beasts  nor  the  flames  hurt  whom  God  protects ! 


Seeking  the  Esquimo.  1/9 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SEEKING    THE    ESQUIMO. 

DECEMBER  twenty-fifth  came,  and  our  ice 
bound,  darkness-enshrouded,  sick,  or,  in  a 
measure,  health-broken  explorers  tried  to  make 
it  a  merry  Christmas.  They  all  sat  down  to  din 
ner  together.  "There  was  more  love  than  with 
the  stalled  ox  of  former  times,  but  of  herbs 
none."  They  tried,  at  least,  to  forget  their  dis 
comforts  in  the  blessings  they  still  retained,  and 
to  look  hopefully  on  the  long  distance,  and  the 
many  conflicts  between  them  and  their  home  and 
friends. 

Immediately  after  Christmas  a  series  of  attempts 
were  commenced  to  open  a  communication  with 
the  Esquimo  at  Etah,  ninety-one  miles  away. 
The  supply  of  fresh  meat  was  exhausted.  The 
traps  yielded  nothing,  and  Hans's  hunting  could 
not  go  on  successfully  in  the  dark.  The  scurvy- 
smitten  men  were  failing  for  the  want  of  it,  and  so 
every  thing  must  be  periled  to  make  the  journey. 
The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  put  the  dogs,  if 
possible,  into  traveling  order.  They  were  now 
few  in  number,  for  fifty  had  died,  and  the  surviv 
ors  had  been  kept  on  short  rations.  Their  dead 
companions,  which  had  been  preserved  in  a  frozen 
state,  were  boiled  and  fed  to  them  for  fresh  food. 


180  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Dog  did  eat  dog,  and  relished  and  grew  stronger 
on  the  diet. 

Dr.  Kane  and  Petersen  made  the  first  attempt, 
starting  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  December.  They 
had  scarcely  reached  the  forsaken  huts  of  Anoatok, 
"  the  wind  loved-spot,"  so  often  used  as  a  rest 
ing  place,  when  the  dogs  failed.  A  storm,  with  a 
bitter,  pelting  snow-drift,  confined  them  awhile. 
An  incident  occurred  here — one  of  the  many 
which  happened  to  the  explorers — which  shows 
plainly  the  unseen,  but  ever  present,  eye  and 
hand  which  attended  them. 

They  were  just  losing  themselves  in  sleep  when 
Petersen  shouted :  "  Captain  Kane,  the  lamp's 
out !  "  His  commander  heard  him  with  a  thrill 
of  horror !  The  storm  was  increasing,  the  cold 
piercing,  and  the  darkness  intense.  The  tinder 
had  become  moist  and  was  frozen  solid.  The 
guns  were  outside,  to  keep  them  from  the  moisture 
of  the  hut.  The  only  hope  of  heat  was  in  relight 
ing  the  lamp.  A  lighted  lamp  and  heat  they  must 
have.  Petersen  tried  to  obtain  fire  from  a  pocket- 
pistol,  but  his  only  tinder  was  moss,  and  after  re 
peated  attempts  he  gave  it  up.  Dr.  Kane  then 
tried.  He  says  : — 

"  By  good  luck  I  found  a  bit  of  tolerably  dry 
paper  in  my  jumper;  and,  becoming  apprehensive 
that  Petersen  would  waste  our  few  percussion 
caps  with  his  ineffectual  snappings,  I  took  the  pis 
tol  myself.  It  was  so  intensely  dark  that  I  had  to 
grope  for  it,  and  in  doing  so  touched  his  hand. 
At  that  instant  the  pistol  became  distinctly  visible. 


Seeking  the.  Esquimo.  181 

A  pale,  bluish  light,  slightly  tremulous  but  not 
broken,  covered  the  metallic  parts  of  it,  the  bar 
rel,  lock,  and  trigger.  The  stock  too  was  clearly 
discernible,  as  if  by  the  reflected  light,  and,  to 
the  amazement  of  both  of  us,  the  thumb  and  two 
fingers  with  which  Petersen  was  holding  it,  the 
creases,  wrinkles,  and  circuit  of  the  nails,  clearly 
denned  upon  the  skin.  The  phosphorescence  was 
not  unlike  the  ineffectual  fire  of  the  glowworm. 
As  I  took  the  pistol  my  hand  became  illuminated 
also,  and  so  did  the  powder- rubbed  paper  when  I 
raised  it  against  the  muzzle. 

"  The  paper  did  not  ignite  at  the  first  trial,  but 
the  light  from  it  continuing,  I  was  able  to  charge 
the  pistol  without  difficulty,  rolled  up  my  paper 
into  a  cone,  filled  it  with  moss  sprinkled  over  with 
powder,  and  held  it  in  my  hand  while  I  fired. 
This  time  I  succeeded  in  producing  flame,  and  we 
saw  no  more  of  the  phosphorescence," 

When  the  storm  subsided  they  made  further 
experiment  to  reach  Etah.  But  dogs  and  men 
found  the  wading  impossible,  and  they  returned 
to  the  brig,  the  dogs  going  ahead  and  the  men 
walking  after  them.  They  made  the  forty-four 
miles  of  their  circuitous  route  in  sixteen  hours ! 

Thus  closed  the  year  1854. 

The  three  following  weeks  were  mainly  occu 
pied  by  Dr.  Kane  in  a  careful  preparation  for  an 
other  attempt  to  reach  Etah,  this  time  with  Hans. 
Old  Yellow,  one  of  the  five  dogs  on  which  success 
in  a  measure  depended,  stalked  about  the  deck 
with  "his  back  up,"  as  much  as  to  say,  "I  must 
12 


1 82  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

have  more  to  eat  if  I  am  going."  Jenny,  a  mother 
dog,  had  quite  a  family  of  little  ones.  Yellow 
being  very  hungry,  and  not  seeing  the  use  of  such 
young  folks,  gobbled  one  of  them  down  before  his 
master  could  say,  "  Don't  you."  Dr.  Kane  taking 
the  hint,  and  thinking  that  the  puppies  would  not 
be  dogs  soon  enough  for  his  use,  shared  with 
Yellow  the  rest  of  the  litter.  So  both  grew 
stronger  for  the  journey. 

The  new  year,  1855,  came  in  with  a  vail  of 
darkness  over  the  prospects  of  our  explorers. 
The  sick  list  was  large,  and  threatened  to  include 
the  whole  party.  A  fox  was  caught  occasionally, 
and  beyond  this  stinted  supply  there  was  no  fresh 
meat.  On  Tuesday,  January  twenty-third,  the 
commander  and  Hans,  with  the  dog-team,  turned 
their  faces  toward  the  Esquimo.  All  went  well 
for  a  while,  until  hope  rose  of  accomplishing  the 
journey,  getting  savory  walrus,  and  cheering  their 
sinking  comrades.  Suddenly,  Big  Yellow,  in  spite 
of  nice  puppy  soup,  gave  out,  and  went  into  con 
vulsions.  Toodla,  the  next  best  animal,  failed 
soon  after.  The  moon  went  down,  and  the  dark 
night  was  upon  the  beset  but  not  confounded 
heroes.  Groping  for  the  ice-foot,  they  trudged 
fourteen  wretched  hours,  and  reached  the  old 
igloe  at  Anoatok.  The  inevitable  storm  arose, 
with  its  burden  of  snow  driven  by  a  strange, 
moistening  southeast  wind,  burying  the  hut  deep 
and  warm.  The  temperature  rose  seventy  de 
grees  !  An  oppressive  sensation  attacked  Dr. 
Kane  and  Hans,  and  alarming  symptoms  were  de- 


Seeking  the  Esquimo.  183 

veloped.  Water  ran  down  from  the  roof,  the 
doctor's  sleeping  bag  of  furs  was  saturated,  and 
his  luxurious  eider  down,  God's  wonderful  cold 
defier,  was  "a  wet  swab." 

After  two  days  in  this  comfortless  hut,  the  storm 
having  subsided,  they  once  again  pushed  toward 
Etah  !  Their  sick,  failing  comrades  were  the  spur 
to  this  desperate  effort.  But  it  was  in  vain,  for 
the  deep,  moist  snow,  the  hummocks  and  the  wind, 
defied  even  desperate  courage.  They  returned  to 
the  hut  and  spent  another  wretched  night. 

In  the  morning,  in  spite  of  short  provisions,  ex 
haustion,  continued  snowing,  they  climbed  the 
ice-foot,  and  for  four  haltless  hours  faced  toward 
the  Esquimo  !  But  in  vain.  Dr.  Kane  says  :  "  My 
poor  Esquimo,  Hans,  adventurous  and  buoyant 
as  he  was,  began  to  cry  like  a  child.  Sick,  worn 
out,  strength  gone,  dogs  fast  and  floundering,  I  am 
not  ashamed  to  admit  that,  as  I  thought  of  the 
sick  men  on  board,  my  own  equanimity  was  at 
fault." 

Dr.  Kane  scrambled  up  a  familiar  hill  that  was 
near  and  reconnoitered.  He  was  delighted  to  see, 
winding  among  the  hummocks,  a  level  way !  He 
called  Hans  to  see  it.  With  fresh  dogs  and  fresh 
supplies,  they  could  certainly  reach  Etah.  So, 
after  another  night  at  the  hut;  they  returned  to 
the  brig,  comforting  the  sick  with  the  assurance 
that  success  would  come  on  the  next  trial. 

The  month  closed  with  only  five  effective  men, 
including  the  commander,  and  of  these  some  were 
about  as  much  sick  as  well.  Dr.  Kane  could  not 


1 84  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

be  spared  from  his  patients,  so,  February  third, 
Petersen  and  Hans  tried  another  Etah  adventure. 
In  three  days  they  returned,  with  a  sorrowful  tale 
from  poor  Petersen  of  heroic  efforts  ending  in  ex 
haustion  and  defeat. 

But  God  always  sent  many  rays  of  light  through 
the  densest  darkness  besetting  our  explorers  to 
cheer  them  and  inspire  hope.  The  yellow  tints 
of  coming  sunlight  were  at  noonday  faintly  painted 
on  the  horizon.  The  rabbits  prophesied  the 
spring  by  appearing  abroad,  and  two  were  shot. 
They  yielded  a  pint  of  raw  blood,  which  the  sick 
est  drank  as  a  grateful  cordial.  Their  flesh  was 
also  eaten  raw,  and  with  great  thankfulness. 

Following  these  moments  of  comfort  came  a 
dismal  and  anxious  night.  Thick  clouds  over 
spread  the  sky,  a  heavy  mist  rendered  the  dark 
ness  appalling,  followed  by  a  drifting  snow  and  a 
fearful  storm.  The  wind  howled  and  shrieked 
through  the  rigging  of  the  helpless,  battered  brig, 
as  if  in  mockery  of  her  condition  and  the  suffer 
ings  of  her  inmates.  Goodfellow  had  gone  inland 
with  his  gun  during  the  brief  day,  and  had  not 
returned.  Roman  candles  and  bluelights  were 
burned  to  guide  him  homeward.  Altogether  it 
was  a  night  to  excite  the  superstitious  fears  of  the 
•sailors,  and  they  proved  to  be  not  beyond  the 
reach  of  such  fears.  Tom  Hickey,  the  cook,  hav 
ing  been  on  deck  while  the  gale  was  in  its  full 
strength,  to  peer  into  the  darkness  for  him,  ran 
below  declaring  that  he  had  seen  Goodfellow  mov 
ing  cautiously  along  the  land-ice  and  jump  down 


Seeking  the  Esquimo.  185 

on  the  floe.  He  hurried  up  his  supper  to  give  the 
tired  messmate  a  warm  welcome,  but  no  one  came. 
Dr.  Kane  went  out  with  a  lantern,  looked  carefully 
around  for  some  hundreds  of  yards,  but  found  no 
fresh  footsteps.  Tom  seriously  insisted  that  he 
had  seen  Goodfellow's  apparition  ! 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  one  of  the 
sailors  went  on  deck.  There  was  hanging  in  the 
rigging  an  old  seal-skin  bag  containing  the  rem 
nant  of  the  ship's  furs.  Its  ghostly  appearance  in 
ordinary  darkness  had  been  the  occasion  of  much 
jesting.  Now,  to  the  excited  imagination  of  the 
sailor,  it  pounded  the  mast  like  the  gloved  fist  of 
a  giant  boxer,  glowed  with  a  ghastly  light,  and 
muttered  to  him  an  unearthly  story.  He  did  not 
stop  to  converse  with  it,  but  hastened  below  with 
the  expression  of  his  fears.  His  messmates  laughed 
and  jeered  at  his  tale,  but  their  merriment  was  but 
the  whistling  to  inspire  their  own  courage. 

The  morning  came  and  so  did  Goodfellow,  none 
the  worse  for  his  night's  experience.  The  storm 
subsided,  Hans  killed  three  rabbits,  they  all  tasted 
a  little  and  felt  better,  and  the  seal-skin  bag  was 
never  known  from  that  time  to  utter  a  word. 
Fears  may  endure  for  a  night  but  joy  cometh  in 
the  morning  !  Dr.  Kane  devoutly  remarks  :  "  See 
how  often  relief  has  come  at  the  moment  of  ex 
tremity  ;  see,  still  more,  how  the  back  has  been 
strengthened  to  its  increasing  burden,  and  the 
heart  cheered  by  some  unconscious  influence  of 
an  unseen  POWER." 


1 86  NORTH- POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

DESERTERS. 

HANS  had  been  for  some  time  promising  the 
hungry  company  a  deer.  He  had  seen  their 
tracks,  and  he  was  watching  for  them  with  a  good 
rifle,  a  keen  eye,  and  a  steady  hand.  He  came  in 
on  the  evening  of  February  twenty-second  with  the 
good  news  that  he  had  lodged  a  ball  in  one  at  a 
long  range,  and  that  he  went  hobbling  away.  He 
was  sure  he  should  find  him  dead  in  the  morning. 
The  morning  came  and  the  game  was  found,  hav 
ing  staggered,  bleeding,  only  two  miles.  He  was 
a  noble  fellow,  measuring  in  length  six  feet  and 
two  inches,  and  five  feet  in  girth.  He  weighed 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  when 
dressed.  The  enfeebled  men  with  difficulty  drew 
him  on  board.  His  presence  caused  a  thrill  of 
joy,  and  his  luscious  flesh  sent  its  invigoration 
through  their  emaciated  frames. 

The  following  Sunday,  as  Dr.  Kane  was  stand 
ing  on  deck  thinking  of  their  situation,  he  lifted 
up  his  eyes  toward  a  familiar  berg,  for  many 
months  shrouded  in  darkness,  and  saw  it  sparkling 
in  the  sunlight.  The  King  of  Day  was  not  yet 
above  the  intervening  hills,  but  he  had  sent  his 
sheen  to  proclaim  his  coming.  Glad  as  a  boy  whom 
the  full  mid-winter  moon  invites  to  a  coasting 


Deserters.  187 

frolic,  he  started  on  a  run,  climbed  the  elevations, 
and  bathed  in  his  refreshing  rays. 

During  the  month  of  February,  Petersen,  Hans, 
and  Godfrey  had  been  sent  out  on  the  track  of 
the  Esquimo,  but  they  returned  and  declared  that 
Etah  could  not  be  reached.  Their  commander 
said,  "  Nay,  it  can  !  " 

By  the  sixth  of  March  the  brig  was  again  with 
out  fresh  meat.  The  sick  were  once  more  suffer 
ing  for  it,  and  the  well  growing  feeble.  Hans,  the 
resort  in  such  emergencies,  was  given  a  light 
sledge,  the  two  surviving  dogs,  and  to  him  was 
committed  the  forlorn  hope.  His  departure  called 
forth  from  his  commander  a  "  God  bless  you !  " 
and  prayers  followed  him. 

His  story  is  simple  and  touching.  He  lodged 
the  first  night  in  the  "wind-loved,"  forsaken,  des 
olate,  yet  friendly  hut  of  Anoatok.  -  He  slept  as 
well  as  he  could  in  a  temperature  fifty-three  de 
grees  below  zero.  The  next  night  he  slept  in  a 
friendly  hut  at  Etah.  The  oft-tried  feat  was  ac 
complished.  But  he  found  the  Etahites  lean  and 
hungry.  Hollow  cheeks  and  sunken  eyes  spoke 
of  famine.  The  skin  of  a  young  sea-unicorn,  their 
last  game,  was  all  of  food  which  remained  to  the 
settlement.  They  had  even  eaten  their  light  and 
fire  blubber,  and  were  seated  in  darkness,  gloom 
ily  waiting  for  the  sun  and  the  hunt.  They  had 
eaten,  too,  all  but  four  of  their  ample  supply  of 
dogs. 

They  hailed  the  coming  of  Hans  with  a  shout. 
He  proposed  to  join  them  in  a  hunt,  but  they 


1 88  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

shook  their  heads.  They  had  lost  a  harpoon  and 
line  in  the  attempt  to  take  a  walrus  the  day  before. 
The  ice  was  yet  thick,  and  the  huge  monster  in 
his  struggles  had  broken  the  line  over  its  sharp 
edge.  Hans  showed  them  his  "  boom,"  and  bid 
ding  them  come  on,  started  for  the  hunting-grounds. 
Metek — Mr.  Eider  Duck — speared  a  fair-sized 
walrus,  and  Hans  gave  him  five  conical  balls  in 
quick  succession  from  a  Marston  rifle,  and  he  sur 
rendered  at  discretion. 

The  return  of  the  hunters  caused  great  joy  in 
the  city  of  Etah,  whose  two  huts  poured  out  their 
inhabitants  to  greet  their  coming,  and  aid  in  ren 
dering  due  honors  to  the  game  itself.  As  usual 
they  laughed,  feasted,  and  slept,  to  awake,  laugh, 
eat,  and  sleep  again.  Hans  and  his  boom  were 
great  in  their  eyes,  but  the  Kablunah,  whose  rep 
resentative  he  was,  rose  before  their  vision  as 
the  glorious  sun  which  scatters  the  long  winter 
darkness. 

Hans  obtained  a  hunter's  share,  and  his  appear 
ance  on  the  deck  of  the  "  Advance,"  heralded  by 
the  yelping  of  the  dogs,  sent  a  thrill  of  joy  through 
every  heart.  As  Dr.  Kane  grasped  his  hand  on 
the  deck,  and  began  to  listen  to  his  story,  he  ex 
claimed  :  "  Speak  louder,  Hans,  that  they  may  hear 
in  the  bunks !  "  The  bunks  did  hear,  and  feel 
too,  as  the  good  news  came  home  to  their  hunger- 
wa:ted  bodies  in  refreshing  food. 

As  the  commander  had  requested,  Hans  brought 
Myouk  with  him  to  assist  in  hunting.  The  smart 
young  hunter  was  delighted  to  be  with  the  white 


Deserters.  1 89 

men,  though  his  itching  fingers  would  secrete  cups, 
spoons,  and  other  valuables,  which  were  made  to 
come  back  to  their  proper  places  by  sundry  cuffs 
and  kicks,  which,  though  perhaps  not  altogether 
pleasant  of  themselves,  caused  him  to  cuddle  down 
in  his  buffalo  at  his  master's  feet  like  a  whipped 
spaniel,  and  their  relations  grew  daily  more  en 
joyable. 

Hans  and  Myouk  made  soon  after  an  unsuc 
cessful  hunt.  This  made  the  fresh  meat  question 
come  up  again  with  its  emphatic  importance.  The 
fuel  question,  too,  was  becoming  more  and  more  a 
cause  of  concern.  The  manilla  cable  had  been 
chopped  up  and  burned,  and  such  portions  of  the 
brig  as  could  be  spared,  and  not  destroy  her  sea 
going  value,  had  gone  in  the  same  way.  Now  the 
nine  feet  of  solid  ice  in  which  she  was  imbedded 
seemed  to  say  that  she  would  never  float  again,  so 
she  might  as  well  yield  her  planks  to  the  fire. 
But  to  see  her  thus  used  went  to  the  hearts  of  her 
gallant  men. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  March  Hans  was  dis 
patched  to  the  Esquimo,  well  supplied  with  the 
first  quality  of  cord  for  their  harpoons,  and  such 
other  prompters  to,  and  helps  in,  the  walrus  hunt 
as  occurred  to  his  commander.  He  would  bless 
thereby  and  please  these  starving  people,  hoping 
that  the  blessing  would  return  in  the  form  of  fresh 
walrus  to  him  and  his  suffering  men. 

During  the  absence  of  Hans  there  were  unusual 
and  painful  developments  at  the  brig.  William 
Godfrey  and  John  Blake  had  given  Dr.  Kane  much 


igo  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

trouble  from  the  first.  They  were  now  evidently 
bent  on  mischief,  and  made  constant  watchfulness 
over  them  a  necessity.  Just  as  Hans  left  they 
feigned  sickness,  and  were  suspected  of  desiring 
rest  and  recruited  strength  for  desertion.  Their 
plan  was  believed  to  be  to  waylay  Hans  and  get 
his  sledge  and  dogs.  Dr.  Kane  contrived  so 
shrewdly  to  keep  one  of  them  at  work  under  his 
eye,  and  the  other  in  some  other  place,  that  they 
did  not  perceive  his  suspicions  of  them.  One 
night  Bill  was  heard  to  say  that  some  time  during 
the  following  day  he  should  leave,  and  this  was  re 
ported  to  the  commander  by  a  faithful  listener. 
He  was,  of  course  watched,  and  at  six  o'clock 
was  called  to  prepare  breakfast.  This  he  com 
menced  doing  uneasily,  stealing  whispers  with 
John.  Finally  he  seemed  at  his  ease,  and  cooked 
and  served  the  breakfast.  Dr.  Kane  believed  he 
meant  to  slip  out  the  first  opportunity,  meet  John 
on  deck,  and  desert ;  he  therefore  armed  himself, 
threw  on  his  furs,  made  Bonsall  and  Morton  ac 
quainted  with  his  plans,  and  crept  out  of  the  dark 
avenue  and  hid  near  its  entrance.  After  an  hour 
of  cold  waiting  John  crept  out,  grunting  and  limp 
ing,  for  he  had  been  feigning  lameness,  looked 
quickly  round,  and  seeing  no  one,  mounted  nim 
bly  the  stairs  to  the  deck.  Ten  minutes  later 
Godfrey  came  out,  booted  and  fur-clad  for  a 
journey.  As  he  emerged  from  the  tossut  his  com 
mander  confronted  him,  pistol  in  hand.  He  was 
ordered  back  to  the  cabin,  while  Morton  com 
pelled  John's  return,  and  Bonsall  guarded  the  door 


Deserters.  191 

preventing  any  one  passing  out.  In  a  few  mo 
ments  John  came  creeping  into  the  cabin,  aw 
ful  lame  and  terribly  exhausted  in  his  effort  to 
breathe  a  little  fresh  air  on  deck.  He  looked 
amazed  as  by  the  glare  of  the  light  he  saw  the  sit 
uation. 

The  commander  then  explained  to  the  company 
the  offenses  of  the  culprits,  giving  from  the  log 
book  the  details  of  their  plotting.  He  had  pre 
pared  himself  for  the  occasion,  and  Bill,  the  prin 
cipal,  was  punished  on  the  spot.  He  confessed  his 
guiltiness,  promised  good  behavior,  and  in  view  of 
the  few  men  able  to  work,  his  hand-cuffs  were  re 
moved  and  he  was  sent  about  his  customary  busi 
ness.  In  an  hour  after  he  deserted.  Dr.  Kane 
was  at  the  moment  away  hunting,  and  his  escape 
was  not  noticed  until  he  was  beyond  the  reach  of 
a  rifle  ball. 

The  next  two  weeks  were  weary,  anxious  weeks, 
though  the  ever-watchful  Hand  tendered  in  good 
time  occasion  for  hope.  Six  sea-fowl  and  three 
hares  were  shot  by  Petersen,  and  gave  indispen 
sable  refreshment  to  the  sick. 

On  the  second  of  April,  just  before  noon,  a  man 
was  seen,  with  a  dog-sledge,  lurking  behind  the 
hummocks  near  the  brig.  Dr.  Kane  went  out 
armed  to  meet  him.  It  proved  to  be  Godfrey  the 
deserter,  who,  seeing  his  old  comrades,  left  the 
sledge  and  run.  Leaving  Bonsall  with  his  rifle  to 
make  sure  of  the  sledge,  the  doctor  gave  chase, 
and  the  fugitive,  seeing  but  one  following,  stopped 
and  turned  around.  He  said  he  had  made  up  his 


I Q2  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

mind  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  life  with  Kalutunah 
and  the  Esquimo,  and  that  no  persuasion  nor  force 
should  prevent  him.  A  loaded  pistol  presented  at 
his  head  did,  though,  persuade  him  to  return  to  the 
brig.  When  he  reached  the  gangway  he  refused 
to  budge  another  step.  Petersen  was  away  hunt 
ing,  Bonsall  and  Dr.  Kane  were  so  weak  that  they 
could  barely  stand,  and  all  the  other  men,  thirteen, 
were  prostrated  with  the  scurvy,  so  that  they  could 
not  compel  him  by  physical  force.  As  the  doctor 
was  desirous  not  to  hurt  him,  he  left  him  under  the 
guardianship  of  Bonsall's  weapons  while  he  went 
below  for  irons.  Just  as  he  returned  to  the  deck 
Godfrey  turned  and  fled.  Bonsall  presented  his 
pistol,  which  exploded  the  cap  only.  Kane  seized 
a  rifle,  but  being  affected  by  the  cold,  it  went  off 
in  the  act  of  cocking.  A  second  gun,  fired  in  haste 
at  a  long  range,  missed  its  mark.  So  the  rebel 
made  good  his  retreat. 

He  had  come  back  with  Hans'  sledge  and  dogs, 
and  reported  him  sick  at  Etah  from  over  exhaus 
tion.  But  there  was  one  consolation  in  the  affair — 
the  sledge  was  loaded  with  walrus-meat.  The 
feast  that  followed  revived  the  drooping  men 
wonderfully.  They  ate,  were  thankful,  and  looked 
hopefully  on  the  future. 

Godfrey  was  suspected  of  having  come  back  to 
get  John.  The  desertion  of  two  well  men  when 
so  many  were  sick  would  imperil  the  lives  of  all. 
The  commander  felt  that  the  safety  of  the  whole 
required  the  faithfulness  of  each  man,  he  therefore 
explained  the  situation  to  the  men  and  declared 


Deserters.  1 93 

his  determination  to  punish  desertion,  or  the  at 
tempt  to  desert,  by  the  "sternest  penalty." 

Hans  became  now  the  subject  of  anxiety.  Some 
unfair  dealing  toward  him  on  the  part  of  Godfrey 
was  feared.  It  was  thought  but  just  that  he  should 
be  sought,  and,  if  in  trouble,  relieved.  But  who 
should  go?  Dr.  Kane  finally  resolved  to  go  after 
him  himself.  Besides,  the  question  of  more  walrus 
was  again  pressing. 

April  tenth  the  doctor  was  off.  The  first  eleven 
hours  the  dogs  carried  him  sixty-four  miles,  a  most 
remarkable  speed  for  their  short  rations. 

While  thus  speeding  along,  far  out  on  the  floe, 
he  spied  a  black  speck  in-shore  away  to  the  south. 
Was  it  some  cheat  of  refraction.  He  paused,  took 
his  gun,  and  sighted  the  object,  a  device  of  old 
Arctic  travelers  to  baffle  refraction.  It  is  an  animal 
— yes,  a  man !  Away  went  the  dogs,  ten  miles  an 
hour,  while  the  rider  cheated  them  with  the  shout, 
"  Nannook  !  nannook  !  " — a  bear !  a  bear  !  In  a 
few  moments  Hans  and  the  doctor  were  in  grate 
ful,  earnest  talk.  He  had  really  been  sick.  He 
had  been  down  five  days,  and,  as  he  expressed  it, 
still  felt  "  a  little  weak."  He  took  his  command 
er's  place  on  the  sledge  and  both  went  to  the 
friendly  hut  at  Anoatok,  where  hot  tea  and  rest 
prepared  both  for  the  return  to  the  brig. 


194  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CLOSING  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  IMPRISONMENT. 

HANS  had  his  story  of  adventure  while  at 
Etah.  But  the  most  important  item  in  his 
estimation,  and  that  which  might  prove  far  reach 
ing  in  its  results,  was  the  fact  that  a  young  daugh 
ter  of  Sunghu  appointed  herself  his  nurse  during 
his  sickness,  bestowing  upon  him  care,  sympathy, 
and  bewitching  smiles.  She  had  evidently  done 
what  Godfrey,  tried  in  vain  to  do — she  had  en 
trapped  him,  at  the  expense,  too,  of  a  young  Es- 
quimo  lady  at  Upernavik. 

Hans  had  been  successful  in  the  hunt,  and,  be 
sides  what  he  had  sent  by  Godfrey,  had  deposited 
some  walrus  at  Littleton  Island.  He  was  at  once 
sent  after  this,  and  intrusted  at  the  same  time  with 
an  important  commission.  Dr.  Kane  had  been  for 
some  time  meditating  another  trip  toward  the  po 
lar  sea.  To  do  this  he  desired  more  dogs.  The 
Esquimo  had  been  reducing  their  stock  to  keep 
away  starvation,  but  Kalutunah  had  retained  four. 
These,  and  such  others  as  he  could  find,  Hans  was 
authorized  to  buy  or  hire,  at  almost  any  price. 
This  northern  trip  made,  the  next  move  might 
be  toward  the  abandonment  of  the  "Advance." 
She  could  never  float,  it  was  plain,  for  now,  late 
in  April,  the  open  water  was  eighty  miles  south. 


Closing  Incidents  of  the  Imprisonment.   195 

While  Hans  was  gone,  the  sick,  yet  numbering 
two  thirds  of  the  whole,  and  in  a  measure  all  of  the 
other  third,  except  the  commander,  were  without 
fresh  food,  as  they  had  been  for  several  days.  Yet 
the  sunshine  and  the  occasional  supplies  had  put 
them  all  on  the  improving  list.  They  could  sit  up, 
sew  or'  job  a  little,  making  themselves  useful,  and 
keeping  up  good  spirits.  But,  hark !  what  sound 
is  that  breaking  on  the  still,  clear  air.  It  comes 
nearer.  Bim,  bim,  bim,  sounds  upon  the  deck.  It 
is  Hans,  whose  coming  is  ever  like  the  coming  of 
the  morning.  A  rabbit-stew  and  walrus  liver  fol 
low  his  arrival,  and  over  such  royal  dainties  good 
cheer  pervades  the  family  circle. 

Hans  brought  Metek  with  him,  and  Metek's 
young  nephew,  Paulik,  a  boy  of  fourteen.  Metek 
and  Hans  spoke  sadly  of  the  condition  of  the  Es- 
quimo  settlements.  We  have  seen  that  the  escap 
ing  party  found  those  of  the  south  flying  north 
ward  from  starvation.  The  report  now  was  that 
they  had  huddled  together  at  Northumberland 
Island  until  that  yielded  to  the  famine,  and  now 
they  had  come  farther  north.  It  was  a  sad  sight 
to  see  men,  women,  and  children  fleeing  over  the 
icy  desert  before  their  relentless  foe.  Yet,  says 
Hans,  they  sung  as  they  went,  careless  of  present 
want,  and  thoughtless  of  the  morrow.  Many  had 
died,  and  thus  year  by  year  these  few,  scattered, 
improvident  people  decline,  giving  earnest  that  in 
a  few  years  all  will  be  gone. 

Though  light-hearted,  death  did  bring  its  sor 
rows  to  these  benighted  heathen.  Kalutunah  lost 


1 96  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

a  sister;  her  body  was  sewed  up  in  skins,  not  in  a 
sitting  posture  but  extended,  and  her  husband, 
unattended,  carried  it  out  to  burial,  and,  with  his 
own  hand,  placed  upon  it  stone  after  stone,  mak 
ing  at  once  a  grave  and  a  monument.  A  blubber 
lamp  was  burning  outside  the  hut  while  he  was 
gone,  and  when  he  returned  his  friends  were 
waiting  to  listen  to  his  rehearsal  of  the  praises 
of  the  dead,  and  to  hear  the  expressions  of  his 
sorrow,  while  they  showed  their  grief  by  dismal 
chantings. 

If  sorrow  did  not  keep  the  deceased  in  the 
memory  of  the  living,  imposed  self-denials  did. 
The  Angekok,  or  medicine  man,  as  our  Indians 
would  call  him,  determines  the  penance  of  the 
mourner,  who  is  sometimes  forbidden  to  eat  the 
meat  of  a  certain  bird  or  beast,  under  the  idea 
that  the  spirit  of  the  departed  has  entered  into  it ; 
at  another  time  the  mourner  must  not  draw  on  his 
hood,  but  go  with  uncovered  head ;  or  he  may  be 
forbidden  to  go  on  the  bear  or  walrus  hunt.  The 
length  of  time  of  these  penances  may  be  a  few 
months  or  a  year.  The  reader  will  recollect  the 
widow  with  her  birds,  who  appeared  so  often  in 
the  narrative  of  the  escaping  party. 

Though  thus  mourning  for  the  dead,  these  Es- 
quimo  do  not  hold  life  as  a  very  sacred  trust.  The 
drones  and  the  useless  are  sometimes  harpooned 
in  the  back  merely  to  get  rid  of  them.  Infants 
are  put  out  of  the  way  when  they  greatly  annoy 
their  parents.  Hans,  on  one  of  his  returns  from 
Etah,  had  a  story  to  tell  illustrative  of  this.  Awah- 


Closing  Incidents  of  the  Imprisonment.   197 

tok,  a  young  man  of  twenty-two,  had  a  pretty  wife 
—pretty  as  Esquimo  beauty  goes — sister  of  Kalu- 
tunah,  arid  about  eighteen  years  old.  Dr.  Kane 
had  regarded  this  couple  with  some  interest,  and 
the  husband  "stuck  to  him  as  a  plaster."  Their 
first-born  was  a  fine  little  girl.  Well,  Hans  re 
ported  with  becoming  disgust  and  indignation  that 
they  had  buried  it  alive  under  a  pile  of  stones ! 
When  Dr.  Kane  next  visited  Etah  he  inquired  of 
his  friends  Awahtok  and  his  wife  after  the  health 
of  the  baby,  affecting  not  to  have  heard  about  its 
hard  fate.  They  pointed  with  both  hands  earth 
ward,  but  did  not  even  shed  the  cheap,  customary 
tear.  The  only  reason  reported  for  this  murder 
was,  that  certain  of  its  habits,  common  to  all  in 
fants,  were  disagreeable  to  them  ! 

Such  is  the  mildest  heathenism  without  Chris 
tianity.  These  and  other  similar  gross  sins  were 
common  among  the  South  Greenland  Esquimo, 
but  have  disappeared  before  the  teachings  of  the 
Moravian  missionaries. 

Hans  returned  with  the  walrus  he  had  deposited 
at  Littleton  Island,  but  he  had  made  no  progress 
in  getting  dogs,  so  Dr.  Kane  resolved  to  go  to 
Etah  for  that  purpose  himself.  Besides,  having 
learned  that  Godfrey  was  playing  a  high  game 
there  and  defying  capture,  and  also  fearing  his  in 
fluence  over  the  friendly  relations  of  the  Esquimo, 
he  resolved  to  bring  him  back  to  the  brig.  Metek 
was  just  starting  for  Etah,  so  he  invited  himself 
to  return  with  him,  while  Paulik,  his  nephew,  re 
mained  with  Hans.  This  arrangement  effected, 
13 


198  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Dr.  Kane  was  soon  approaching  Etah,  perfectly 
disguised  in  the  hood  and  jumper  of  Paulik,  whose 
place  on  the  sledge  he  occupied.  The  whole  city 
ran  out  to  meet  their  chief,  among  whom  was  the 
deserter,  who  shouted,  and  then  threw  up  his  arms 
with  the  most  savage  of  them.  He  did  not  per 
ceive  his  commander  until  a  certain  well  under 
stood  summons  entered  his  ear,  and  a  significant 
pistol  barrel  gleamed  in  the  sunlight  near  his  eyes. 
He' surrendered  to  this  "  boom  "  argument  without 
discussion,  and  trotting  or  walking,  he  kept  his 
assigned  place  ahead  of  the  sledge  through  the 
eighty  and  more  miles  to  the  brig,  halting  only  at 
Anoatok.  We  hear  nothing  of  further  attempt  at 
desertion. 

A  little  later  Dr.  Kane  made  another  visit  to 
Etah.  The  hunt  had  become  successful,  and  the 
famine  was  broken ;  all  was  activity  and  good 
cheer.  The  women  were  preparing  the  green 
hides  for  domestic  use.  Great  piles  of  walrus 
tushes  were  preserved  for  various  useful  purposes; 
some  of  these  the  children  had  selected  as  bats, 
and  were-- engaged  in  merry  sport.  Their  game 
was  to  knock  a  ball  made  of  walrus  bone  up  the 
slanting  side  of  a  hummock,  and  then,  in  turn,  hit 
it  as  it  rolled  down,  and  so  keep  it  from  reaching 
the  floe.  They  shouted  and  laughed  as  the  game 
went  on,  much  as  our  boys  do  over  their  sports. 

'Dr.  Kane  observed  on  this  trip  a  way  of  taking 
walrus  which  has  not,  we  think,  been  noted  before. 
The  monster  at  this  early  season  sometimes  finds 
the  ice  open  near  a  berg  only.  He  comes  on  the 


Closing  Incidents  of  the  Imprisonment.   199 

ice  to  sun  himself;  finds  the  change  from  the  cold 
sea  very  agreeable,  stays  too  long,  the  water  freezes 
solid,  and  he  cannot  return.  As  he  is  unable  to 
break  the  ice  from  above,  he  either  waits  for  the 
current  about  the  berg  to  open  the  ice  again,  or 
works  himself  clumsily  to  some  already  open  place. 
In  this  helpless  state  the  dogs  scent  him  afar  off, 
and  the  hunters,  following  their  lead,  make  him  an 
easy  prey. 

Hans  came  in  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  April, 
accompanied  by  Kalutunah,  Shanghee,  and  Tat- 
terat,  each  of  the  Esquimo  having  sledges,  and 
sixteen  dogs  in  all.  Hans  had  been  sent  to  Cape 
Alexander,  where  Kalutunah  was  sojourning,  to 
invite  him  to  the  brig  in  order  to  secure  his  aid  in 
the  proposed  northern  trip.  He  was  fed  well, 
and  propitiated  by  a  present  of  a  knife  and  nee 
dles.  He  said,  "  Thank  you,"  and  added,  "  I  love 
you  well,"  which  might  uncharitably  be  taken  to 
mean,  "  I  love  your  presents  well."  The  result 
of  the  presents,  feasting,  and  flattery  was  a  start 
north  by  the  three  Esquimo,  with  Dr.  Kane  and 
Hans,  all  the  dog  teams  accompanying.  The  old 
route  across-  Kennedy  Channel  to  the  west  side, 
and  so  north-poleward,  was  attempted.  First  came 
a  very  fair  progress ;  then  came  the  hummocks, 
over  which,  by  the  aid  of  their  dogs,  they  clam 
bered  until  thirty  miles  from  the  brig  had  been 
made.  Then  Shanghee  burrowed  into  a  snow 
bank  and  slept,  the  cold  being  thirty  degrees 
below  zero ;  the  rest  camped  in  the  snow  and 
lunched.  Just  as  a  fair  start  was  again  made,  the 


200  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

party  neared  a  huge  male  bear  in  the  act  of  lunch 
ing  on  seal.  In  vain  the  doctor  attempted  to 
control  either  dogs  or  drivers.  "  Nannook  !  nan- 
nook!"  shouted  the  Esquimo  as  they  clung  to 
their  sledges,  and  the  dogs  flew  over  the  ice  in 
wild  and  reckless  pursuit.  After  an  exciting  chase 
the  bear  was  brought  to  a  halt  and  to  a  fight,  which 
the  rifles  and  spears  soon  terminated  against  bruin. 
A  feast  by  dogs  and  men,  and  a  night's  halt  on 
the  ice  followed,  to  Dr.  Kane,  at  least,  both  vexa 
tious  and  comfortless. 

The  next  day  he, would  press  on  to  the  north. 
But  bear  tracks  were  every-where,  and  the  savage 
chiefs  preferred  hunting  to  exploring;  besides, 
they  had,  they  said,  their  families  to  support,  and 
there  was  no  use  trying  to  cross  the  channel  so 
high  up.  The  English  of  it  was,  we  are  "  going 
in  "  for  the  bears,  and.  you  may  help  yourself.  A 
day  more  was  spent  in  a  wild  hunt  among  the 
bergs,  and  the  party  returned  to  the  brig. 

A  little  later  still  another  attempt  was  made  to 
unlock  further  the  secrets  of  'the  extreme  icy 
north,  this  time  by  only  Kane  and  Morton  with  a 
six-dog  sledge,  the  explorers  walking.  This,  the 
last  effort  of  the  kind,  ended  in  the  usual  way,  ex 
cepting  some  additions  to  the  surveys. 


Homeward  Bound.  20 1 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

THE  final  escape  from  the  brig  must  now  be 
commenced.  From  the  early  fall  its  neces 
sity  had  been  thought  of,  and  preparations  for  it 
commenced.  Since  the  sick  had  begun  to  im 
prove,  the  work  in  reference  to  it  had  been  going 
on  with  system.  Coverlets  of  eider  down,  beds, 
or  furs  which  could  be  used  as  such,  boots,  mocca 
sins,  a  full  supply  to  meet  emergencies,  were  pre 
pared.  Provision  bags  were  made  and  filled  with 
powder,  ship-bread,  pork-fat,  and  tallow  melted 
down,  and  cooked  concentrated  bean  soup.  The 
flour  and  meat  biscuit  were  put  in  double  bags. 
Two  boats  had  been  made  from  the  ship's  beams 
twenty-six  feet  long,  seven  feet  across,  and  three 
feet  deep.  Incredible  toil  by  weak  and  sick  men 
had  been  expended  upon  these  boats.  A  neat 
"housing"  of  light  canvas  was  raised  over  each 
of  them.  One  other  boat,  the  "Red  Eric,"  was 
in  readiness.  There  was  no  assurance  that  either 
of  these  boats  would  long  float,  yet  all  was  done 
which  the  circumstances  allowed  to  make  them 
sea-worthy. 

The  three  boats  were  mounted  on  sledges. 
The  necessary  outfit,  so  far  as  they  could  bear, 
was  to  be  stowed  away  in  them. 


2O2  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

Every  thing  being  in  readiness,  a  vast  amount 
of  thinking  having  been  employed  by  the  com 
mander  in  reference  to  all  contingencies,  a  peremp 
tory  order  of  march  was  issued  for  the  seventeenth 
of  May.  The  men  were  given  twenty-four  hours 
to  get  ready  eight  pounds  of  such  personal  effects 
as  they  chose.  From  the  date  of  starting  the 
strictest  discipline  and  subordination  was  to  be 
observed,  which  came  hard  upon  the  long-in 
dulged,  improving  sick  ones.  The  perfectness  of 
the  preparations  had  a  good  effect,  yet  there  were 
many  moody  doubters.  Some  insisted  that  the 
commander  only  meant  to  go  further  south,  hold 
ing  the  brig  to  fall  back  upon ;  some  thought  he 
would  get  the  sick  nearer  the  hunting  grounds ; 
others  believed  that  his  purpose  was  to  secure  some 
point  of  look-out  for  the  English  explorers,  or 
whaling  vessels. 

When  the  memorable  day  of  departure  came, 
the  boats  were  in  the  cradle  on  the  sledges,  and 
the  men,  with  straps  over  their  shoulders  and  drag- 
ropes  from  these  to  the  sledges,  started  for  the 
ice-foot  along  which  they  were  to  travel  They 
had  not  yet  received  their  loads,  so  they  glided 
off  easily,  exciting  a  smile  on  some  rueful  counte 
nances. 

In  twenty-four  hours  the  boats  were  laden,  on 
the  elevated  drive-way,  covered  with  their  canvas 
roof,  and,  with  a  jaunty  flag  flying,  were  ready  for 
a  final  leave  the  next  day.  The  exhausted  men, 
for  nearly  all  of  them  were  yet  invalids,  returned 
to  the  vessel,  ate  the  best  supper  the  supplies 


Homeward  Bound.  203 

afforded,  "  turned  in,"  prepared  for  their  first 
effort  at  dragging  the  boat-laden  sledges. 

But  one  sledge  could  be  moved  at  once,  with  all 
hands  attached  ;  the  first  day  they  made  two  miles 
only  with  this  one.  For  several  days  they  made 
short  distances  and  returned  early  to  a  hearty 
supper  and  warm  beds  in  their  old  quarters,  so 
that  they  marched  back  to  the  drag-ropes  in  the 
morning  refreshed.  The  weather  was,  by  the 
kind,  overruling  Hand,  "  superb." 

The  final  leave-taking  was  somewhat  ceremoni 
ous.  All  the  men  were  assembled  in  the  dis 
mantled  room  which  had  been  so  long  both  a 
prison  and  providential  home.  It  was  Sunday ; 
all  listened  to  a  chapter  of  the  Bible,  and  prayers. 
Then,  all  silently  standing,  the  commander  read,  a 
prepared  report  of  what  had  been  done,  and. the 
reasons  for  the  step  about  to  be  taken.  He  then 
addressed  the  company,  honestly  conceding  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  escape,  but  assuring  them 
that  energy  and  subordination  would  secure  suc 
cess.  He  reminded  them  of  the  solemn  claims 
upon  them  of  the  sick  and  wounded ;  called  to 
their  minds  the  wonderful  deliverance  granted 
them  thus  far  by  the  infinite  Power,  and  exhorted 
them  still  confidently  to  commit  all  to  the  same 
Helper. 

The  response  to  this  appeal  was  most  cheering 
to  Dr.  Kane.  The  following  engagement  was 
drawn  up  by  one  of  the  officers  and  signed  by 
every  man  : — 

"The  undersigned,  being  convinced  of  the  in> 


2O4  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

possibility  of  the  liberation  of  the  brig,  and  equally 
convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  remaining  in  the 
ice  a  third  winter,  do  fervently  concur  with  the 
commander  in  his  attempt  to  reach  the  south  by 
means  of  boats. 

"  Knowing  the-  trials  and  hardships  which  are 
before  us,  and  feeling  the  necessity  of  union,  har 
mony,  and  discipline,  we  have  determined  to  abide 
faithfully,  by  the  expedition  and  our  sick  com 
rades,  and  to  do  all  that  we  can,  as  true  men,  to 
advance  the  objects  in  view." 

The  party  now  went  on  deck,  hoisted  a  flag  and 
hauled  it  down  again,  and  then  marched  once  or 
twice  around  the  vessel.  The  figure  head — the 
fair  Augusta  —  "the  little  blue  girl  with  pink 
cheeks,"  was  taken  by  the  men  and  added  to  their 
load.  She  had  been  nipped  and  battered  by  the 
ice,  and  a  common  suffering  made  her  dear  to 
them.  When  Dr.  Kane  remonstrated  against  the 
additional  burden,  they  said :  "  She  is,  at  any 
rate,  wood,  and  if  we  cannot  carry  her  far  we  can 
"burn  her." 

The  final  departure  was  too  serious  for  cheers, 
and  when  the  moment  came  they  all  hurried  off  to 
the  boats  and  the  dragrropes. 

Four  men  were  sick,  and  had  to  be  carried; 
and  Dr.  Kane  was  with  the  dog-team  the  common 
carrier  and  courier,  as  we  shall  see,  so  that  there 
were  but  twelve  men  to  the  boats;  these  were 
organized  into  two  companies,  six  each,  for  the 
two  sledges;  M'Gary  having  command  of  the 
"  Faith,"  and  Morton  command  of  the  "  Hope." 


Homeward  Bound.  205 

Each  party  was  separate  in  matters  of  baggage, 
sleeping,  cooking,  and  eating ;  both  were  concen 
trated,  in  turns,  upon  each  sledge  under  the  com 
mand  of  Brooks.  Both  morning  and  evening  of 
each  day  all  gathered  round,  with  uncovered 
heads,  to  listen  to  prayers.  Every  one  had  his 
assigned  place  at  the  track-line ;  each  served  in 
tuin  as  cook,  except  the  captains. 

From  an  early  day  of  the  preparations,  Dr.  Kane 
had  been  at  work  refitting  and  furnishing  the 
broken-down,  forsaken  hut  at  Anoatok.  For  this 
purpose  many  trips  were  made  to  it  with  the  dog- 
team  ;  it  was  made  tight  as  possible  ;  the  filth  care 
fully  removed  ;  cushions  and  blankets  were  spread 
upon  the  raised  floor  at  the  sides  and  a  stove  set 
up ;  blankets  were  hung  up  against  the  walls, 
and  the  whole  made  to  look  as  cheerful  as  possi 
ble.  While  the  sledges  were  approaching  this  place 
by  short  stages,  Dr.  Kane,  with  his  team,  brought 
to  the  hut  the  four  sick  men ;  they  were  Goodfel- 
low,  Wilson,  Whipple,  and  Stephenson.  Dr.  Hayes, 
yet  limping  on  his  frozen  foot,  bravely  adhered  to 
the  sledges.  When  the  sick  entered  the  hut  none 
could  wait  upon  the  others,  except  Stephenson, 
who  could  barely  light  the  lamp,  to  melt  the  snow 
and  heat  the  water.  But  Dr.  Kane  made  them 
frequent  visits,  supplying  their  wants,  and  report 
ing  the  daily  progress  toward  them  of  their  whole 
company.  They  grew  better,  and  were  able  to 
creep  out  into  the  sunshine.  Besides  carrying  the 
sick  to  Anoatok,  Dr.  Kane  had,  with  his  dogs,  con 
veyed  there  and  stocked  near  the  hut  most  of  the 


2O6  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

provisions  for  their  march  and  voyage;  eight  hun 
dred  pounds  out  of  fifteen  were  now  there,  and  he 
^proposed  to  convey  the  rest.  This  was  done  to 
relieve  the  overladen  sledges. 

The  red  boat — "  Red  Eric  " — joined  the  party 
on  the  floe  a  few  days  after  the  start,  increasing 
their  burden,  but  assuring  them  of  increased  com 
fort  and  safety  when  they  reached  the  open  water. 

One  incident  of  this  period  will  illustrate  its 
hardships  and  the  Christian  courage  with  which 
they  were  met. 

It  was  soon  after  the  last  sick  man  was  borne  to 
the  hut  that  Dr.  Kane,  having,  in  one  of  his  dog- 
team  trips,  camped  on  the  floe,  came  upon  the 
boat  party  early  in  the  morning.  They  were  at 
prayers  at  the  moment,  and,  as  they  passed  to  the 
drag-ropes,  he  was  pained  at  the  evidence  of  in 
creased  scurvy  and  depression.  Brooks's  legs  were 
sadly  swollen,  and  Hayes  ready  to  faint  writh  ex 
haustion.  They  must  have  more  generous  meals, 
thought  the  noble-hearted  commander.  Taking 
Morton,  he  hastened  back  to  the  brig.  As  they 
entered  a  raven  flew  croaking  away  ;  he  had  al 
ready  made  his  home  there.  Lighting  the  fires  in 
the  old  cook-room,  they  melted  pork,  cooked  a 
large  batch  of  light  bread  without  salt,  saleratus,  or 
shortening,  gathered  together  some  eatable,  though 
damaged,  dried  apples  and  beans,  and,  the  dogs 
having  fed,  hastened  back  to  the  men  on  the  floe. 
Distributing  a  good  supper  to  their  comrades  as 
they  passed,  and  taking  Godfrey  along  with  them, 
they  hastened  to  the  hut.  The  poor  fellows  con- 


Homeward  Bound.  207 

fined  in  it  were  rejoiced  to  see  them.  They  had 
eaten  all  their  supplies,  their  lamp  had  gone  out, 
the  snow  had  piled  up  at  the  door  so  that  they 
could  not  close  it,  and  the  arctic  wind  and  cold 
were  making  free  in  their  never-too-warm  abode. , 
The  poor  fellows  were  cold,  sick,  and  hungry.  The 
coming  of  their  commander  was  as  the  coming  of 
an  angel  messenger  of  good  tidings.  He  closed 
their  door,  made  a  fire  of  tarred  rope,  dried  their 
clothes  and  bedding,  cooked  them  a  porridge  of 
pea-soup  and  meat-biscuit,  and  set  their  lamp- 
wick  ablaze  with  dripping  pork  fat.  Then,  after 
all  had  joined  in  prayer  of  thankfulness,  a  well  rel 
ished  meal  was  eaten.  This  was  followed  by  a 
cheerful  chat,  and  a  long,  refreshing  forgetfulness  in 
their  sleeping-bags  of  all  privations.  When  they 
awoke  the  gale  had  grown  more  tempestuous,  with 
increasing  snow.  But  they  went  on  burning  rope 
and  fat  until  every  icicle  had  disappeared,  and 
every  frost  mark  had  faded  out. 

On  their  arrival  at  the  hut  the  night  before,  Dr. 
Kane,  seeing  the  condition  of  things,  sent  Godfrey 
forward  to  Etah  for  fresh  supplies  of  game.  After 
a  time  he  returned  with  Metek,  and  the  two 
sledges  well  laden  with  meat.  A  part  of  this  was 
hurried  off  to  the  toilers  at  the  drag-ropes. 

Having  blessed  by  his  coming  these  weary 
voyagers,  Dr.  Kane,  with  Morton,  Metek,  and  his 
sledge,  went  once  more  to  the  brig.  They  baked  a 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  bread  and  sent  it  by 
Metek  to  Mr.  Brooks,  and  the  faithful  messenger, 
having  delivered  it,  returned  immediately  for  an- 


2O8  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

other  load.  While  he  was  gone,  a  hundred  pounds 
of  flour  pudding  was  made,  and  two  bagfuls  of 
pork-  fat  tried  out.  This  done,  the  three  lay  down 
upon  the  curled  hair  of  the  old' mattresses,  they 
having  been  ripped  open  and  their  contents  drawn 
out  to  make  the  most  comfortable  bed  the  place 
afforded.  They  slept  as  soundly  "  as  vagrants  on 
a  haystack." 

The  next  day  they  set  their  faces  toward  the 
sledge  company  and  Anoatok,  both  sledges  having 
heavy  loads,  which  included  the  last  of  the  fifteen 
hundred  pounds  of  provisions. 

Dr.  Kane  had  made  one  of  his  last  trips  to  the 
brig  :  he  would  return  for  provisions  only ;  but  all 
his  specimens  of  Natural  History,  collected  with 
much  toil,  his  books,  and  many  of  his  well-tested 
instruments,  he  was  compelled  to  leave.  His  six 
dogs  had  carried  him,  during  the  fortnight  since 
the  company  left  the  brig,  between  seven  and  eight 
hundred  miles,  averaging  about  fifty-seven  miles  a 
day.  But  for  their  services  the  sick  could  scarcely 
have  -been  saved,  and  the  rest  would  have  suffered 
more  intensely. 

Leaving,  as  usual,  a  part  of  the  food  with  Mr. 
Brooks's  party,  they  hastened  on  to  replenish  the 
stores  and  cheer  the  hearts  of  the  lonely  dwellers 
in  the  hut. 


Narrow  Escapes.  209 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

NARROW  ESCAPES. 

HAVING  brought  forward  the  provisions  to 
Anoatok,  Dr.  Kane,  with  the  help  of  Metek 
and  his  dogs,  began  to  remove  them  still  farther 
south,  making  one  deposit  near  Cape  Hatherton, 
and  the  other  yet  farther,  near  Littleton  Island. 
But  an  immediate  journey  to  Etah  for  walrus  had 
become  necessary.  The  hard-working  men  were 
improving  on  this  greasy  food,  and  they  wanted  it 
in  abundance.  Dr.  Kane  found  the  Etahites  fat 
and  full.  He  left  his  weary,  well-worn  dogs  to  re 
cruit  on  their  abundance,  and  returned  with  their 
only  team,  which  was  well  fed  and  fresh.  They 
made  the  trade  without  any  grumbling. 

When  he  came  back  the  Brooks  party  were 
within  three  miles  of  Anoatok.  They  were  getting 
along  bravely  and  eating  voraciously,  and  the  old 
cry,  "  more  provisions !"  saluted  the  commander. 
Leaving  the  dogs  to  aid  in  transferring  the  stores  to 
the  southern  stations,  Dr.  Kane  and  Irish  Tom 
Hickey  started  afoot  to  the  brig  to  do  another 
baking.  It  was  a  sixteen  hours'  tramp.  But  ere 
they  slept  they  converted  nearly  a  barrel  of  flour, 
the  last  of  the  stock,  into  the  staff  of  life.  An  old 
pickled-cabbage  cask  was  used  as  a  kneading 
trough,  and  sundry  volumes  of  the  "  Penny  Cyclo- 


2IO  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

pedia  of  Useful  Knowledge  "  were  burned  during 
the  achievement.  Tom  declared  the  work  done 
to  be  worthy  of  his  own  country's  bakers,  and  he 
had  been  one  "of  them  same,"  so  he  deemed  that 
praise  enough.  When  the  doctor  lamented  that 
the  flour  so  used  was  the  last  of  the  stock,  Tom 
exclaimed :  "  All  the  better,  sir,  since  we'll  have 
no  more  bread  to  make." 

Godfrey  came  to  the  brig  on  the  third  day,  with 
the  dogs,  to  carry  back  the  baking.  But  a  howling 
storm  delayed  them  all  on  board.  It  was  Sunday, 
and  the  last  time  that  Dr.  Kane  expected  to  be  in 
the  cabin  with  any  of  his  men.  He  took  down  a 
Bible  from  one  of  the  berths  and  went  through 
the  long-used  religious  service.  The  dreary  place 
was  less  dreary,  and  their  burdened  hearts  were 
no  doubt  made  lighter  by  thus  drawing  near  to 
God. 

The  commander  and  Tom  left  the  next  day 
with  the  sledge  load,  leaving  Godfrey  to  come  on 
after  farther  rest.  But  scarcely  had  the  sledge 
party  delivered  their  load  of  bread,  and  begun  the 
sound  sleep  which  follows  hard  work,  when  God 
frey  came  in  out  of  breath  with  the  hot  haste  of 
his  journey.  He  reluctantly  confessed  the  occa 
sion  of  his  sudden  departure  from  the  brig.  He 
had  lain  down  on  the  contents  of  the  mattresses 
to  sleep.  Suddenly  Wilson's  guitar,  left  with  other 
mementoes  of  two  winters'  imprisonment,  sent 
forth  music  soft  and  sad.  Bill  was  sure  he  heard 
aright,  for  he  was  awake  and  in  his  right  mind. 
He  fled  on  the  instant,  and  scarcely  looked  behind 


Narrow  Escapes.  211 

until  he  reached  his  companions.  He  had  never 
heard  of  the  musical  genius  of  Eolus,  and  it  was 
not  strange  that  the  old  forsaken,  mutilated,  ghostly, 
looking  brig  should  excite  the  imagination  of  the 
lonely  lodger. 

The  invalids  of  the  huts  were  now  doing  well. 
Their  housekeeping  assumed  a  home-like  appear 
ance — after  the  fashion  of  Arctic  homes— and  they 
welcomed  the  doctor  with  a  dish  of  tea,  a  lump 
of  walrus  flesh,  and  a  warm  place.  The  Brooks 
party  were  not  afar  off. 

A  storm  which  out-stormed  all  they  had  yet  seen 
or  felt  of  storms  came  down  upon  our  explorers 
at  this  time. 

When  the  storm  had  blown  past,  Morton  was 
dispatched  to  Etah  with  the  dogs,  accompanied 
by  two  Etahites  who  had  been  storm-bound  with 
the  boat-parties.  His  mission  was  to  demand  aid 
of  these  allies  on  the  ground  of  sacred  treaty  stip 
ulations,  and  well-recognized  Esquimo  laws  of 
mutual  help.  Dr.  Kane  took  his  place  with  the 
men  on  the  floe.  Sledging  was  now  not  only  made 
by  the  storm  and  advancing  season  more  labori 
ous,  but  very  dangerous  ;  around  the  bergs  black 
water  appeared,  and  over  many  places  there  were 
to  be  seen  pools  of  water.  The  boats  were  un 
laden,  and  their  cargoes  carried  in  parcels  by 
sledges,  yet  serious  accidents  occurred.  At  one 
time  a  runner  of  the  sledge  carrying  the  "  Hope  " 
broke  in,  and  the  boat  came  near  being  lost ;  as  it 
was,  six  men  were  plunged  into  the  water.  Sick 
and  well  men  worked  for  dear  life,  and  affairs  were 


212  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

growing  more  than  cloudy  when  the  helping  hand 
of  the  great  Helper  was  seen  as  it  had  been  so 
often.  Morton  returned  from  Etah,  having  been 
entirely  successful  in  his  appeal  to  the  natives  for 
aid.  They  came  with  every  sound  dog  they  pos 
sessed,  and  with  sledges  loaded  with  walrus.  The 
dogs  alone  were  equal  to  ten  strong  men  added  to 
the  expedition.  Dr.  Kane  took  one  of  the  teams, 
and  with  Metek  made  his  last  trip  to  the  brig,  and 
on  his  return  commenced  bringing  down  the  inva 
lids  of  the  hut  to  the  boats.  As  he  came  near  the 
floe-party  he  found  Ohlsen  sitting  on  a  lump  of  ice 
alone,  some  distance  in  their  rear.  He  had  pre 
vented  the  "  Hope's  "  sledge  from  breaking  through 
the  ice  by  taking  for  a  moment  its  whole  weight  on 
a  bar  which  he  had  slipped  under  it.  He  was  a 
strong  man,  and  the  act  was  heroic,  but  he  was 
evidently  seriously  injured.  He  was  pale,  but 
thought  his  only  difficulty  was  "  a  little  cramp  in 
the  small  of  his  back,"  and  that  he  should  be  bet 
ter  soon.  Dr.  Kane  gave  him  Stephenson's  seat 
on  the  sledge,  carried  him  to  the  boat,  and  gave 
him  its  most  comfortable  place,  and  muffled  him 
up  in  the  best  buffalo  robes.  Dr.  Hayes  gave  him 
tender  and  constant  attention  all  that  night,  but 
he  declined  rapidly. 

Having  stowed  the  sick  away  in  the  boats,  the 
morning  prayers  being  offered,  the  men  on  the 
sixth  of  June  started  anew  at  the  drag-ropes. 
Two  hours'  drawing  sufficed  to  show  all  hands 
their  insufficiency  for  the  task.  Just,  then  a  spank 
ing  breeze  started  up.  They  hoisted  the  sails  of 


Narrow  Escapes.  213 

the  boats,  and  the  wind  increased  to  a  gale  and 
blew  directly  after  them.  Away  the  sledges  sped 
toward  the  provision  depot  near  Littleton  Island. 
Ridges  in  the  ice  which  would  have  delayed  them 
at  the  drag-ropes  for  hours,  but  gave  them  the  rise 
and  fall  as  they  glided  over  them  of  a  ship  on  the 
waves.  God,  who  "  holds  the  wind  in  his  fist," 
had  unloosed  it  for  their  benefit.  The  foot-sore, 
weary  men,  who  a  few  moments  ago  felt  that  an 
almost  impossible  task  was  theirs,  were  now  jubi 
lant,  and  broke  out  into  song — the  first  sailor's 
chorus  song  they  had  sung  for  a  year.  They  came 
to  a  halt  at  five  o'clock  P.  M.,  having  made  under 
sail  the  distance  of  five  drag-rope  days. 

While  here  they  were  joined  by  old  Nessark, 
and  by  Sipsu,  the  surly  chief  who  appears  so  con 
spicuously  in  the  narrative  of  Dr.  Hayes's  escap 
ing  party.  They  came  with  their  fresh  dog-teams, 
and  offered  their  services  to  the  explorers.  Nes 
sark  was  sent  after  the  last  of  the  sick  men  at  the 
hut. 

The  following  five  or  six  days  were  those  of 
peril  and  discouragement.  At  one  time  a  sledge 
had  broken  in,  carrying  with  it  several  of  the 
men,  bringing  affairs  to  a  gloomy  crisis.  But 
the  men  scrambled  out,  and,  to  still  further  lift 
the  burdens  from  the  party,  five  sturdy  Esquimo 
appeared,  with  two  almost  equally  strong  women. 
They  laid  hold  of  the  drag- ropes  with  a  will,  and 
worked  the  rest  of  the  day  without  demanding 
any  reward.  So  there  was  always  help  in  their 
time  of  need. 
14 


214  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

Nessark  came  in  good  time  with  Wilson  and 
Whipple,  the  last  of  the  sick  ;  the  old  hut  was  now 
deserted,  and  all  were  with  the  boats  except  one. 
Hans  had  been  missing  for  nearly  two  months. 
Early  in  April  he  came  to  his  commander  with  a 
long  face  and  a  very  plausible  story ;  he  had,  he 
said,  no  boots ;  he  wanted  to  go  to  one  of  the  Es- 
quimo  settlements  a  little  south  to  get  a  stock  of 
walrus-hides.  He  did  not  want  the  dogs ;  he 
would  walk,  and  be  back  in  good  time.  But  the 
hitherto  faithful  and  trusted  Hans  had  not  returned. 
When  inquiry  was  made  of  the  people  of  Etah 
they  said  he  certainly  called  there,  and  engaged 
of  one  of  the  women  a  pair  of  boots,  and  then 
pushed  on  to  Peteravik,  where  Shanghee  and  his 
pretty  daughter  lived.  The  last  information  they 
had  of  him  they  gave  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoul 
ders  and  a  merry  twinkle  of  the  eye.  He  had 
been  seen  by  one  of  their  people  once  since  he 
left  Etah ;  he  was  then  upon  a  native  sledge, 
Shanghee's  daughter  at  his  side,  bound  south  of 
Peteravik.  He  had  forsaken  the  explorers  for  a 
wife ! 

The  party  were  one  day  feeling  their  way  along 
cautiously,  pioneers  going  ahead  and  trying  the 
soundness  of  the  ice  by  thumping  with  boat 
hooks  and  narwhal,  horns.  Suddenly  a  shout  of 
distress  was  heard.  The  "  Red  Eric  "  had  broken 
in  !  She  contained  the  document  box  of  the  ex 
pedition,  the  loss  of  which  would  make  their 
whole  work  profitless  to  the  world  even  should 
the  party  be  saved.  She  had  on  board  too  many 


Narrow  Escapes.  21$ 

provision  bags.  But,  after  great  exposure  and 
labor,  all  was  saved  in  good  condition,  and  the 
boat  hauled  upon  the  ice.  Several  of  the  men 
had  narrow  escapes.  Stephenson  was  caught  as 
he  sunk  by  the  sledge  runner,  and  Morton  was 
drawn  out  by  the  hair  of  his  head  as  he  was  dis 
appearing  under  the  ice.  A  grateful  shout  went 
up  from  all  hands  that  nothing  serious  resulted 
from  the  accident. 


2l6  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ESQUIMO     KINDNESS. 

THE  company  made  slow  and  tiresome  prog 
ress  by  Littleton  Island,  and  were  carrying 
their  entire  load  forward  in  parcels  to  the  main 
land  at  the  northern  opening  of  Etah  Bay,  when 
the  sad  news  was  whispered  to  Dr.  Kane,  who  was 
with  the  advanced  party,  that  Ohlsen  was  dead. 
A  gloom  spread  over  the  whole  company.  The 
fact  was  carefully  concealed  from  the  Esquimo, 
who  were  sent  to  Etah  under  the  pretext  of  bring 
ing  back  a  supply  of  birds,  the  entire  dog  force 
being  given  them  to  hasten  their  departure. 

The  funeral  service,  though  attended  by  sincere 
grief,  was  necessarily  brief.  The  body  was  sewed 
up  in  Ohlsen's  own  blankets,  the  burial  service 
read,  the  prayer  offered,  and  it  was  borne  by  his 
comrades  in  solemn  procession  to  a  little  gorge  on 
the  shore,  and  deposited  in  a  trench  made  with 
extreme  difficulty.  A  sheet  of  lead,  on  which  his 
name  and  age  was  cut,  was  laid  upon  his  breast ;  a 
monument  of  stones  was  erected  over  it,  to  pre 
serve  it  from  the  beasts  of  prey,  and  to  mark  the 
spot.  They  named  the  land  which  overshadowed 
the  spot  Cape  Ohlsen. 

Having  given  two  quiet  hours,  after  the  funeral 
service,  to  the  solemn  occasion,  the  work  at  the 


Esquimo  Kindness.  217 

drag-ropes  was  continued.  The  Esquimo  re 
turned  in  full  force,  and  with  abundant  provis 
ions.  They  took  their  turn  at  the  drag-ropes  with 
a  shout ;  they  carried  the  sick  on  their  sledges, 
and  relieved  the  whole  expedition  from  care  con 
cerning  their  supplies.  They  brought  in  one  week 
eight  dozen  sea-fowl — little  auks — caught  in  their 
hand-nets,  and  fed  men  and  dogs.  All  ate,  hun 
ger  was  fully  satisfied,  care  for  the  time  departed, 
the  men  broke  out  into  their  old  forecastle  songs, 
and  the  sledges  went  merrily  forward  with  laugh 
and  jest. 

Passing  round  Cape  Alexander,  down  Etah 
Bay,  a  short  distance  toward  the  settlement,  the 
expedition  encamped.  The  long-sought,  coveted 
open  water  was  only  three  miles  away ;  its  roar 
saluted  their  ears,  and  its  scent  cheered  their 
hearts.  The  difficult  and  delicate  work  of  prepar 
ing  the  boats  for  the  sea-voyage  now  commenced. 
In  the  mean  time  the  people  of  Etah,  men, 
women,  and  children,  came  and  encamped  in  their 
midst,  leaving  only  three  persons — two  old  women 
and  a  blind  old  man — in  the  settlement.  They 
slept  in  the  "  Red  Eric,"  and  fed  on  the  stew 
cooked  for  them  in  the  big  camp-kettle.  Each 
one  had  a  keepsake  of  a  file,  a  knife,  a  saw,  or 
some  such  article  of  great  value.  The  children 
had  each  that  great  medicine  for  Esquimo  sick 
ness,  a  piece  of  soap,  for  which  they  merrily 
shouted,  "  Thank  you,  thank  you,  big  chief."  There 
was  joy  in  the  Esquimo  camp  which  knew  but 
one  sorrow — that  of  the  speedy  departure  of  the 


2l8  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

strangers.  At  the  mention  of  this  one  woman 
stepped  behind  a  tent  screen  and  wept,  wiping 
her  teary  face  with  a  bird-skin. 

Dr.  Kane  rode  to  Etah  to  bid  the  aged  invalids 
good-bye.  Then  came  the  last  distribution  of 
presents.  Every  one  had  something,  but  the  great 
gift  of  amputating  knives  went  to  the  chief, 
Metek,  and  the  patriarch,  Nessark.  The  dogs 
were  given  to  the  community  at  large,  excepting 
Toodla-mik  and  Whitey ;  these  veterans  of  many 
well-fought  battle-fields  were  reserved  to  share 
the  homeward  fortunes  of  their  owners.  Toodla 
was  no  common  dog,  but  earned  for  himself  a 
place  in  dog  history.  As  we  are  to  meet  the  dogs 
no  more  in  our  narrative,  we  will  give  Toodla's 
portrait  to  be  set  up  with  our  pen  sketches.  He 
was  purchased  at  Upernavik,  and  so  he  received 
the  advantages  of,  at  least,  a  partially  civilized 
education.  His  head  was  more  compact,  his  nose 
less  pointed  than  most  dogs  of  his  kind,  and  his 
eye  denoted  affection  and  self-reliance,  and  his 
carriage  was  bold  and  defiant.  Toodla,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  cruise,  appointed  himself 
general-in-chief  of  all  the  dogs.  Now  it  often 
happens,  with  dogs  as  well  as  with  men,  that  to  as 
sume  superiority  is  much  easier  than  to  maintain  it. 
But  Toodla's  generalship  was  never  successfully 
disputed.  The  position,  however,  cost  him  many 
a  hard-fought  battle,  for  the  new  comers  naturally 
desired  to  test  his  title  to  rule.  These  he  soundly 
whipped  on  their  introduction  to  the  pack.  He 
even  often  left  the  brig's  side,  head  erect,  tail 


Esquimo  Kindness.  219 

gracefully  curled  over  his  back,  and  moved  toward 
a  stranger  dog  with  a  proud,  defiant  air,  as  much 
as  to  say,  "  I  am  master  here,  sir !  "  If  this  was 
doubted,  he  vindicated  his  boasting  on  the  spot. 
Such  tyranny  excited  rebellions  of  course,  and 
strong  combinations  were  formed  against  him ; 
but  dogs  which  had  been  trounced  individually 
make  weak  organizations,  and  the  coalitions  gave 
way  before  Toodla's  prowess.  It  is  but  fair,  how 
ever,  to  say  that  he  had  strong  allies  upon  whom 
he  fell  back  in  great  emergencies — the  sailors. 
Toodla  died  in  Philadelphia,  and  still  lives — that 
is,  his  stuffed  skin  still  exists  in  the  museum  of 
the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences. 
His  reputation  is  of  the  same  sort  as  that  of  many 
of  the  heroes  of  history,  and  worth  as  much  to  the 
world. 

Dr.  Kane  having  distributed  the  presents  and 
disposed  of  the  dogs,  there  was  nothing  now  but 
the  farewell  address  to  render  the  parting  cere 
mony  complete.  Dr.  Kane  called  the  natives 
about  him  and  *poke  to  them  through  Petersen  as 
interpreter.  He  talked  to  them  as  those  from 
whom  kindness  had  been  received,  and  to  whom  a 
return  was  to  be  made.  He  told  them  about  the 
tribes  of  their  countrymen  farther  south  whom 
he  knew,  and  from  whom  they  were  separated  by 
the  glaciers  and  the  sea;  he  spoke  of  the  longer 
daylight,  the  less  cold,  the  more  abundant  game, 
the  drift-wood,  the  fishing-nets,  and  kayaks  of 
these  relatives.  He  tried  to  explain  to  them  that 
under  bold  and  cautious  guidance  they  might, 


22O  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

in  the  course  of  a  season  or  two,  reach  this  happier 
region. 

During  this  talk  they  'crowded  closer  and  closer 
to  the  speaker,  and  listened  with  breathless  atten 
tion,  to  his  remarks,  often  looking  at  each  other 
significantly. 

Having  thus  parted  with  the  natives,  our  explor 
ing  party  hauled  their  boats  to  the  margin  of  the 
ice.  The  "  Red  Eric  "  was  launched,  and  three 
cheers  were  given  for  "  Henry  Grinnell  and  Home 
ward  Bound."  But  the  storm  king  said,  "  Not 
yet !  "  He  sounded  an  alarm  in  their  ears,  and 
they  drew  the  "  Eric  "  from  the  water  and  retreated 
on  the  floe,  which  broke  up  in  their  rear  with  great 
rapidity.  Back,  back,  they  tramped,  wearily  and 
painfully,  all  that  night,  until  the  next  day  they 
found  a  sheltering  berg  near  the  land,  where  they 
made  a  halt.  Here  they  rested  until  the  wind  had 
spent  its  wrath,  and  the  sea  had  settled  into  a  pla 
cid  quiet.  Their  voyaging  on  the  floe  with  drag- 
ropes  and  sledges  was  ended. 


Melville  Bay.  221 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MELVILLE      BAY. 

ON  the  nineteenth  of  June  the  boats  were 
launched  into  the  sea,  now  calm,  the  "  Faith  " 
leading  under  Kane,  and  the  "  Eric  "  under  Bon- 
sail,  and  the  "  Hope  "  under  Brooks  following. 
The  sea  birds  screamed  a  welcome  to  the  squad 
ron,  and  flew  about  them  as  if  to  inquire  why  they 
came  back  in  three  vessels  instead  of  one,  as  when 
they  sailed  northward  two  years  before.  But  there 
was  no  leisure  for  converse  with  birds.  They  had 
just  passed  Hakluyt  Island,  when  the  "  Eric  "  sunk. 
Her  crew,  Bonsall,  Riley,  and  Godfrey,  struggled 
to  the  other  boats,  and  the  "  Faith  "  took  the  sunk 
en  craft  in  tow.  Soon  after  Brooks  shouted  that 
the  "  Hope  "  was  leaking  badly,  and  threatening 
to  sink.  Fortunately  the  floe  was  not  far  off,  and 
into  one  of  its  creek-like  openings  they  run  the 
boats,  fastened  them  to  the  ice,  and  the  weary  men 
lay  down  in  their  bunks  without  drawing  the  boats 
from  the  water  and  slept. 

The  next  day  they  drew  their  leaking  crafts 
ashore,  and  calked  them  for  another  sea  adventure. 
For  several  days  they  struggled  with  varying  for 
tunes  until  they  brought  up,  weary,  disheartened, 
and  worn  down  by  work  and  an  insufficient  diet 
of  bread-dust,  and  fastened  to  an  old  floe  near  the 


222  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

land.  Scarcely  were  they  anchored  when  a  vast 
ice  raft  caught  upon  a  tongue  of  the  solid  floe 
about  a  mile  to  the  seaward  of  them,  and  began  to 
swing  round  upon  it  as  a  pivot,  and  to  close  in  upon 
our  explorers.  This  was  a  new  game  of  the  ice- 
enemy.  Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  revolving 
icy  platform,  seeming  to  gather  force  with  every 
whirl.  At  first  the  commotion  that  was  made 
started  the  floe,  to  which  they  were  fastened,  on  a 
run  toward  the  shore  as  if  to  escape  the  danger. 
But  it  soon  brought  up  against  the  rocks  and  was 
overtaken  by  its  pursuer.  In  an  instant  the  collis 
ion  came.  The  men  sprang,  by  force  of  discipline, 
to  the  boats  and  the  stores,  to  bear  them  back  to 
a  place  of  safety,  but  wild  and  far-spread  ruin  was 
around  them.  The  whole  platform  where  they 
stood  crumbled  and  crushed  under  the  pressure, 
and  was  tossed  about  and  piled  up  as  if  the  ice-de 
mon  was  in  a  frenzy  of  passion.  Escape  for  the 
boats  seemed  for  the  moment  impossible,  and  none 
expected  it ;  and  none  could  tell  when  they  were 
let  down  into  the  water,  nor  hardly  how,  yet  they 
found  themselves  whirling  in  the  midst  of  the 
broken  hummocks,  now  raised  up  and  then  shaken 
as  if  every  joint  in  the  helpless,  trembling  boats 
was  to  be  dislocated.  The  noise  would  have 
drowned  the  uproar  of  contending  armies  as  ice 
was  hurled  against  ice,  and,  as  it  felt  the  awful 
pressure,  it  groaned  harsh  and  terrific  thunder. 
The  men,  though  utterly  powerless,  grasped  their 
boat-hooks  as  the  boats  were  borne  away  in  the  tu 
multuous  .mass  of  broken  ice  and  hurried  on  to- 


Melville  Bay.  223 

ward  the  shore.  Slowly  the  tumult  began  to  sub 
side,  and  the  fragments  to  clear  away,  until  the  al 
most  bewildered  men  found  themselves  in  a  stretch 
of  water  making  into  the  land,  wide  enough  to  en 
able  them  to  row.  They  came  against  the  wall  of 
the  ice-foot,  and,  grappling  it,  waited  for  the  rising 
tide  to  lift  them  to  its  top.  While  here  the  storm 
was  fearful,  banging  the  boats  against  the  ice-wall, 
and  surging  the  waves  into  them,  thus  keeping  the 
imperiled  men  at  work  for  dear  life  in  bailing  out 
the  water.  They  were  at  last  lifted  by  the  tide  to 
the  ice-foot,  upon  which  they  pulled  their  boats, 
all  uniting  on  each  boat.  They  had  landed  on 
the  cliff  at  the  mouth  of  a  gorge  in  the  rock ;  in 
to  this  they  dragged  the  boats,  keeping  them 
square  on  their  keels.  A  sudden  turn  in  the  cave 
placed  a  wall  between  them  and  the  storm,  which 
was  now  raging  furiously.  While  they  were  draw 
ing  in  the  last  boat,  a  flock  of  eider  ducks  glad 
dened  their  hearts  as  they  flew  swiftly  past.  God 
had  not  only  guided  them  to  a  sheltered  haven,  but 
had  assured  them  of  abundant  food  on  the  morrow. 
They  were  in  the  breeding  home  of  the  sea-fowl. 
Thus  comforted  they  lay  down  to  sleep,  though 
wet  and  hungry.  They  named  their  providential 
harbor  the  "  Weary  Man's  Rest,"  and  remained  in 
it  three  days,  eating  until  hunger  was  appeased,  and 
gathering  eggs  at  the  rate  of  twelve  hundred  a  day, 
and  laughing  at  the  storms  which  roared  without. 
On  the  fourth  of  July,  after  as  much  of  a  patri 
otic  celebration  as  their  circumstances  allowed, 
they  again  launched  into  the  sea. 


224  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

For  some  days  they  moved  slowly  south,  but  it 
was  only  by  picking  their  way  through  the  leads, 
for  they  found  the  sea  nearly  closed.  As  they  ap 
proached  Cape  Dudley  Digges  their  way  was  en 
tirely  closed.  They  pushed  into  an  opening  that 
led  to  the  bottom  of  its  precipitous  cliff.  Here 
they  found  a  rocky  shelf,  overshadowed  by  the  tow 
ering  rocks,  just  large  enough  and  in  the  right  posi 
tion  at  high  tide  to  make  a  platform  on  which  they 
could  land  their  boats.  Here  they  waited  a  whole 
week  for  the  ice  toward  Cape  York  to  give  way. 
The  sea-fowl  were  abundant  and  of  a  choice  kind. 
The  scurvy-killing  cochlearia  was  at  hand,  which 
they  ate  with  their  eggs.  It  was  indeed  a  "provi 
dential  halt,"  for  the  fact  was  constantly  forced 
upon  them  that  they  had  come  here,  as  they  had  to 
"  Weary  Man's  Rest,"  by  no  skill  or  knowledge  of 
their  own. 

It  was  the  eighteenth  of  July  before  the  condi 
tion  of  the  ice  was  such  as  to  make  the  renewal  of 
their  voyage  possible.  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
choice  fowl  had  been  skinned,  cut  open,  and 
dried  on  the  rocks,  besides  a  store  of  those  thrown 
aboard  as  they  were  caught. 

They  now  sailed  along  the  coast,  passing  the 
"  Crimson  Cliffs  "  of  Sir  John  Ross.  The  birds 
were  abundant,  their  halting-places  on  the  shore 
were  clothed  with  green,  and  the  fresh-water 
streams  at  which  they  filled  their  vessels  were 
pouring  down  from  the  glaciers.  They  built  great 
blazing  fires  of  dry  turf  which  cost  nothing  but 
the  gathering.  After  a  day's  hard  rowing  the 


Melville  Bay.  225 

sportsmen  brought  in  fresh  fowl,  and,  gathered 
about  their  camp-fire,  all  ate,  and  then  stretched 
themselves  on  the  moss  carpet  and  slept.  They 
enjoyed  thankfully  this  Arctic  Eden  all  the  more 
as  they  all  knew  that  perils  and  privations  were 
just  before  them. 

They  wisely  provided  during  these  favored  days 
a  large  stock  of  provisions,  amounting  to  six  hun 
dred  and  forty  pounds,  besides  their  dried  birds. 
Turf  fuel,  too,  was  taken  on  board  for  the  fires. 

They  reached  Cape  York  on  the  twenty-first  of 
July.  From  this  place  they  were  to  try  the  dan 
gers  of  Melville  Bay,  across  which  in  their  frail 
boats  they  must  sail.  It  had  smiled  upon  their 
northward  voyage ;  would  it  favor  their  escape 
now?  It  certainly  did  not  hold  out  to  them  flat 
tering  promises.  The  inshore  ice  was  solid  yet, 
and  terribly  hummocky.  The  open  sea  was  far  to 
the  west,  but  along  the  margin  of  the  floe  were 
leads,  and  fortunately  there  was  one  beginning 
where  they  had  halted.  The  boats  were  hauled 
up,  examined,  and  as  much  as  possible  repaired. 
The  "  Red  Eric  "  was  stripped,  her  cargo  taken 
out,  and  her  hull  held  in  reserve  for  fuel.  A  bea 
con  was  erected  from  which  a  red  flannel  skirt  was 
thrown  as  a  pennant  to  the  wind  to  attract  atten 
tion.  Under  this  beacon  records  were  left  which 
told  in  brief  the  story  of  the  expedition.  This 
done,  and  the  blessing  of  God  implored,  the 
voyagers  entered  the  narrow  opening  in  the  ice. 

For  a  while  all  went  well,  but  one  evening  Dr. 
Kane  was  hastily  called  on  deck.  The  huge  ice- 


226  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

bergs  had  bewildered  the  helmsman  in  the  leading 
boat,  and  he  had  missed  the  channel,  and  had 
turned  directly  toward  the  shore  until  the  boat 
was  stopped  by  the  solid  floe.  The  lead  through 
which  they  had  come  had  closed  in  their  rear,  and 
they  were  completely  entangled  in  the  ice  ! 

Without  telling  the  men  what  had  happened, 
the  commander,  under  the  pretense  of  drying  the 
clothes,  ordered  the  boats  drawn  up,  and  a  camp 
was  made  on  the  ice. 

In  the  morning  Kane  and  M'Gary  climbed  a 
berg  some  three  hundred  feet  high.  They  were 
appalled  by  their  situation;  the  water  was  far  away, 
and  huge  bergs  and  ugly  hummocks  intervened. 
M'Gary,  an  old  whaleman,  familiar  from  early  man 
hood  with  the  hardships  of  Arctic  voyaging,  wept 
at  the  sight. 

There  was  but  one  way  out  of  this  entangle 
ment;  the  sledges  must  be  taken  from  the  sides 
of  the  boats,  where  they  had  been  hung  for  such 
emergencies,  the  boats  placed  on  them,  and  the 
old  drag-rope  practice  must  be  tried  until  the  ex 
pedition  reached  the  edge  of  the  floe.  One  sledge, 
that  which  bore  the  "  Red  Eric,"  had  been  used 
for  fuel ;  so  the  "  Red  Eric  "  itself  was  knocked  to 
pieces,  and  stowed  away  for  the  same  use.  About 
three  days  were  consumed  in  thus  toiling  before 
they  reached  the  lead  which  they  had  left,  launched 
once  more  into  waters,  and  sailed  away  before  a 
fine  breeze. 

Thus  far  the  boats  had  kept  along  the  outer 
edge  of  the  floe,  following  the  openings  through 


Melville  Bay.  227 

the  ice.  But  as  this  was  slow  work,  though  much 
safer,  they  now  ventured  a  while  in  the  open  sea 
farther  west ;  but  they  were  driven  back  to  the 
floe  by  heavy  fogs,  and  on  trying  to  get  the  boats 
into  a  lead,  one  of  those  incidents  occurred  so 
often  noticed,  in  which  God's  hand  was  clearly 
seen.  All  hands  were  drawing  up  the  "  Hope," 
and  she  had  just  reached  a  resting-place  on  the 
floe,  when  the  "  Faith,"  their  best  boat,  with  all 
their  stores  on  board,  went  adrift.  The  sight  pro 
duced  an  almost  panic  sensation  among  the  men. 
The  "  Hope  "  could  not  possibly  be  launched  in 
time  to  overtake  her,  for  she  was  drifting  rapidly. 
But  before  they  could  collect  their  thoughts  to 
devise  the  means  of  her  rescue,  a  cake  of  ice 
swung  round,  touched  the  floe  where  they  stood, 
reaching  at  the  same  time  nearly  to  the  "Faith,  ' 
thus  bridging  over  the  chasm.  Instantly  Kane 
and  M'Gary  sprung  upon  it,  and  from  it  into  the 
escaping  boat.  She  was  saved. 


228  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

SAVED. 

MATTERS  were  getting  into  a  serious  con 
dition.  The  delays  had  been  so  many  that 
the  stock  of  birds  had  been  eaten,  and  the  men 
had  been  for  several  days  on  short  allowance, 
which  showed  itself  in  their  failing  strength.  They 
were  far  out  to  sea,  midway  of  the  Melville  Bay 
navigation,  and  the  boats  were  receiving  a  rough 
handling,  and  required  continual  bailing  to  keep 
them  from  sinking. 

It  was  just  at  this  crisis  that  the  ever  timely  aid 
came.  A  large  seal  was  seen  floating  upon  a  small 
patch  of  ice,  seeming  to  be  asleep.  A  signal  was 
given  for  the  "  Hope  "  to  fall  astern,  while  the 
"  Faith  "  approached  noiselessly  upon  him,  with 
stockings  drawn  over  the  oars.  Petersen  lay  in 
the  bow  with  a  large  English  rifle,  and  as  they 
drew  near,  the  men  were  so  excited  that  they 
could  scarcely  row ;  the  safety  of  the  whole  com 
pany  seemed  staked  upon  the  capture  of  that  seal. 
When  within  three  hundred  yards,  the  oars  were 
taken  in,  and  the  boat  moved  silently  on  by  a 
scull-oar  at  the  stern.  The  seal  was  not  asleep, 
for  when  just  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ball  he 
raised  his  head.  The  thin,  care-worn,  almost  de 
spairing  faces  of  the  men  showed  their  deep  concern 


Saved.  229 

as  he  appeared  about  to  make  his  escape.  Dr. 
Kane  gave  the  signal  to  fire;  but  poor  Petersen, 
almost  paralyzed  by  anxiety,  was  trying  nervously 
to  get  a  rest  for  his  gun  on  the  edge  of  the  bow. 
The  seal  rose  on  his  fore-flipper,  looked  curiously 
around,  and  coiled  himself  up  for  a  plunge.  The 
rifle  cracked  at  the  instant,  and  the  seal  at  the 
same  moment  drooped  his  head  one  side,  and 
stretched  his  full  length  on  the  ice  at  the  brink 
of  his  hole.  With  a  frantic  yell  the  men  urged 
the  boats  to  the  floe,  seized  the  seal,  and  bore  him 
to  a  safer  place.  They  brandished  their  knives, 
cut  long  strips  of  the  seal,  and  went  dancing  about 
the  floe,  eating  and  sucking  their  bloody  fingers 
in  wild  delight.  The  seal  was  large  and  fat,  but 
not  an  ounce  of  him  was  wasted.  A  fire  was  built 
that  night  on  the  floe,  and  the  joyous  feast  went 
on  until  hunger  was  appeased ;  they  had  driven 
away  its  gnawings,  and,  happily,  it  returned  no 
more. 

On  the  first  of  August  they  had  passed  the  ter 
rible  bay,  and  sighted  land  on  its  southern  side. 
Familiar  landmarks  of  the  whalers  came  in  sight. 
They  passed  the  Duck  Islands  and  Cape  Shack- 
elton,  and  coasted  along  by  the  hills,  seeking  a 
cove  in  which  to  land.  One  was  soon  found,  the 
boats  drawn  up,  a  little  time  spent  in  thanksgiving 
and  congratulations,  and  then  they  lay  down  on  the 
dry  land  and  slept. 

They  continued  to  coast  near  the  shore,  dodg 
ing  about  among  the  islands,  a'nd  dropping  into  the 
bays,  and  landing  for  rest  at  night.     It  was  at  one 
15 


230  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

of  these  sleeping-halts  on  the  rocks  that  Petersen 
saw  one  of  the  natives,  whom  he  recognized  as  an 
old  acquaintance ;  he  was  in  his  kayak  seeking 
eider-down  among  the  rocks.  Petersen  hailed 
him,  but  the  man  played  shy.  "Paul  Zacharias," 
shouted  Petersen,  "  don't  you  know  me?  I  am 
Carl  Petersen !  " 

'"No,"  replied  the  man;  "his  wife  says  he's 
dead." 

The  native  stared  at  the  weather-beaten,  long- 
bearded  man  for  a  moment  as  he  loomed  up 
through  the  fog,  and  then  turned  the  bow  of  his 
boat,  and  paddled  away  as  if  a  phantom  was  pur 
suing  him. 

Two  days  after  this  the  explorers  were  rowing 
leisurely  along  in  a  fog,  which  had  just  began  to 
lift  and  dimly  reveal  the  objects  on  shore.  At 
this  moment  a  familiar  sound  came  to  them  over 
the  water.  It  was  the  "  huk  "  of  the  Esquimo,  for 
which  they  had  often  taken  the  bark  of  a  fox 
or  the  startling  screech  of  the  gulls;  but  this 
"  huk !  huk !  "  died  away  in  the  home-thrilling 
"  halloo  !  " 

"  Listen,  Petersen  !  what  is  it  ?  " 
Petersen   listened    quietly  for  a   moment,    and 
then,  trembling  with  emotion,  said,  in  an  under 
tone,  "  Dannemarkers !  " 

Then  the  whole  company  stood  up  and  peered 
into  the  distant  nooks,  in  breathless  silence  to 
catch  the  sound  again.  The  sound  came  again, 
and  all  was  a  moment  silent.  It  was  the  first 
Christian  voice  they  had  heard  beyond  their  own 


Saved.  231 

party  for  two  years.  But  they  saw  nothing.  Was 
it  not  a  cheat  after  all  of  their  nervous,  excited 
feelings  ?  The  men  sat  down  again  and  bent  to 
their  oars,  and  their  boats  swept  in  for  the  cape 
from  which  the  sound  proceeded.  They  scanned 
narrowly  every  nook  and  green  spot  where  the 
strangers  might  be  found.  A  full  half  hour  passed 
in  this  exciting  search.  At  last  the  single  mast  of 
a  small  shallop  was  seen.  Petersen,  who  had  kept 
himself  during  the  search  very  still  and  sober, 
burst  into  a  fit  of  crying,  relieved  by  broken  ex 
clamations  of  English  and  Danish,  gulping  down 
his  words  at  intervals,  and  wringing  his  hands  all 
the  while.  "  'Tis  the  Upernavik  oil-boat !  "  "  The 
Mariane  has  come  !  and  Carlie  Mossyn — " 

Petersen  had  hit  the  facts.  The  annual  ship, 
Mariane,  had  arrived  at  Proven,  and  Carlie  Mos 
syn  had  come  up  to  get  the  year's  supply  of  blub 
ber  from  Kinqatok. 

Here  our  explorers  listened  while  Carlie,  in  an 
swer  to  their  questions,  gave  them  a  hint  of  what 
had  been  going  on  in  the  civilized  world  during 
their  long  absence.  The  Crimean  war  had  been 
begun  and  was  in  bloody  progress,  but  "  Sebasto- 
pol  wasn't  taken  !  "  "  Where  and  what  is  Sebasto- 
pol?"  they  queried.  "But  what  of  America?" 
Carlie  didn't  know  much  about  that  country,  for 
no  whale  ships  were  on  the  coast,  but  said  "  a 
steamer  and  a  bark  passed  up  a  fortnight  ago  seek 
ing  your  party." 

"  What  of  Sir  John  Franklin  ?  "  they  next  in 
quired.  Carlie  said  the  priest  had  a  German 


232  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

newspaper  which  said  traces  of  his  boats  and  dead 
had  been  found !  Yes,  found  a  thousand  miles 
away  from  the  region  where  our  explorers  had 
been  looking  for  them  ! 

One  more  row  into  the  fog  and  one  more  halt 
ing  on  the  rocks.  They  all  washed  clean  in  the 
fresh  water  of  the  basins,  and  brushed  up  their 
ragged  furs  and  woolens.  The  next  morning  they 
neared  the  settlement  of  Upernavik,  of  which 
Petersen  had  been  foreman,  and  they  heard  the 
yelling  of  the  dogs  as  its  snowy  hill-top  showed 
itself  through  the  mist,  and  the  tolling  of  the 
workmen's  bells  calling  them  to  their  daily  labor 
came  as  sweet  music  to  their  ears.  They  rowed 
into  the  big  harbor,  landed  by  an  old  Brewhouse, 
and  hauled  their  boats  up  for  the  last  time.  A 
crowd  of  merry  children  came  round  them  with 
cheerful  faces  and  curious  eyes.  In  the  crowd 
were  the  wife  and  children  of  Petersen.  Our  ex 
plorers  were  safe  ;  their  perils  were  over  ! 

Having  lived  in  the  open  air  for  eighty-four 
days,  they  felt  a  sense  of  suffocation  within  the 
walls  of  a  house.  But  divided  among  many  kind, 
hospitable  homes,  they  drank  their  coffee  and 
listened  to  hymns  of  welcome  sung  by  many 
voices. 

The  people  of  Upernavik  fitted  up  a  loft  for  the 
reception  of  the  wayfarers,  and  showed  them  great 
kindness.  They  remained  until  the  sixth  of  Sep 
tember,  and  then  embarked  on  the  Danish  vessel 
"  Mariane,"  whose  captain  was  to  leave  them  at 
the  nearest  English  port  on  his  way  to  Denmark. 


Saved.  233 

The  boat  "  Faith  "  was  taken  on  board,  as  a  relic 
of  their  perilous  adventure  ;  the  document  box 
containing  their  precious  records,  and  the  furs  on 
their  backs — these  were  all  that  were  saved  of  the 
heroic  brig  "Advance." 

The  "  Mariane  "  made  a  short  stay  at  Godhavn. 
The  searching  company  under  Captain  Hartstene 
had  left  there  for  the  icy  north  on  the  twenty- 
first  of  July,  since  which  nothing  was  known  of 
them. 

The  "  Mariane  "  was  on  the  eve  of  leaving  with 
our  explorers  when  the  lookout  shouted  from  the 
hill-top  that  a  steamer  was  in  the  distance.  It 
drew  near  with  a  bark  in  tow,  both  flying  the  stars 
and  stripes.  The  "  Faith  "  was  lowered  for  the 
last  time,  and,  with  Brooks  at  the  helm,  Dr.  Kane 
went  out  to  meet  them.  As  they  came  alongside 
Captain  Hartstene  hailed :  "  Is  that  Dr.  Kane  ?  " 
"  Yes !  "  Instantly  the  men  sprung  into  the  rig 
ging  and  gave  cheers  of  welcome ;  and  the  whole 
country,  on  the  arrival  of  the  long-lost  explorers, 
repeated  the  glad  shout  of  welcome ;  and  the 
Christian  world  echoed,  "  Welcome  !  " 


234  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

OFF    AGAIN. 

DR.  KANE'S  party  came  home,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  the  fall  of  1855.  Dr.  Hayes,  with 
whom  we  have  become  acquainted  as  one  of  that 
number,  began  immediately  to  present  the  desir 
ableness  of  further  exploration  in  the  same  direc 
tion  to  the  scientific  men  of  the  country,  and  to 
the  public  generally.  His  object  was  to  sail  to 
the  west  side  of  Smith's  Sound,  instead  of  the 
east,  as  in  the  last  voyage,  and  to  gather  addi 
tional  facts  concerning*  the  currents,  the  aurora, 
the  glaciers,  the  directions  and  intensity  of  "  the 
magnetic  force,"  and  so  to  aid  in  settling  many 
interesting  scientific  questions.  He  aimed  also, 
of  course,  to  further  peer  into  the  mysteries  of 
the  open  Polar  Sea. 

These  efforts  resulted  in  the  fitting  out  for  this 
purpose,  in  the  summer  of  1860,  the  schooner 
"  United  States,"  and  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Hayes 
as  commander.  She  left  Boston  July  sixth,  manned 
by  fourteen  persons  all  told.  The  vessel  was 
small,  but  made  for  arctic  warfare,  and  as  she 
turned  her  prow  North  Poleward,  she  bore  a  defi 
ant  spirit,  and,  like  all  inexperienced  warriors, 
reckoned  the  victory  already  hers.  But  if  the 
vessel  was  "  green  "  her  commander  was  not.  He 


Off  Again.  235 

was  well  able  to  help  her  in  the  coming  battle  with 
icebergs  and  floes. 

Among  her  men  were  only  two  besides  the  doc 
tor  who  had  seen  arctic  service,  one  of  whom  was 
Professor  August  Sontag,  who  had  been  of  Kane's 
party,  and  had  also  been  of  the  number  who  ac 
companied  Dr.  Hayes  in  the  attempt  to  escape. 
Of  the  rest  of  the  crew  were  two  young  men 
nearly  of  an  age,  about  eighteen,  who  are  repre 
sented  as  joining  the  expedition  because  they 
would,  and  in  love  of  adventure.  Their  names 
were  George  F.  Knorr,  commander's  clerk,  and 
Collins  C.  Starr.  Both  pressed  their  desire  to  go 
upon  Dr.  Hayes,  and  Starr  told  him  that  he  would 
go  in  any  capacity.  The  commander  told  him  he 
might  go  in  the  forecastle  with  the  common  sail 
ors,  and  the  next  day,  to  the  surprise  .of  the  doc 
tor,  he  found  him  on  board,  manfully  at  work  with 
the  roughest  of  the  men,  having  doffed  his  silk 
hat,  fine  broadcloth,  and  shining  boots  of  the  ele 
gant  young  man  of  the  day  before.  The  com 
mander  was  so  pleased  with  his  spirit  that  he  pro 
moted  him  on  the  spot,  sending  him  off  to  be 
sailing-master's  mate. 

In  a  little  less  than  four  weeks  of  prosperous 
sailing,  the  "United  States"  was  at  the  Danish 
port  of  Proven,  Greenland.  It  was  the  intention 
of  the  commander  to  get  a  supply  here  of  the 
indispensable  dog-teams,  but  disease  had  raged 
among  them,  and  none  could  be  bought.  The  ves 
sel  was  delayed,  in  order  that  the  chief  trader,  Mr. 
Hansen,  who  was  daily  expected  from  Upernavik, 


236  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

might  be  consulted  in  the  matter.  When  he  ar 
rived  he  gave  a  gloomy  account  of  the  dog -mar 
ket,  but  kindly  gave  the  expedition  his  own  teams. 
The  couriers  which  had  been  sent  out  to  scour  the 
country  for  others,  returned  with  four  old  dogs  and 
a  less  number  of  good  ones. 

On  the  evening  of  the  twelfth  of  August  the  ex 
plorers  arrived  at  Upernavik.  The  Danish  brig 
"  Thialfe  "  lay  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  about  to 
sail  for  Copenhagen  with  a  cargo  of  skins  and  oil, 
so  the  first  letters  to  the  dear  ones  at  home  were 
hastily  written  to  send  by  her.  They  bore  sad 
news  to  at  least  one  family  circle.  Mr.  Gibson 
Caruther  retired  to  his  berth  well  on  the  evening 
of  their  arrival,  and  in  the  morning  was  found 
dead.  He  had  escaped  the  perils  of  the  first  Grin- 
nell  Expedition  under  Capt.  De  Haven  to  die 
thus  suddenly  ere  those  of  his  second  voyage 
had  begun.  He  was  beloved,  able,  and  intelli 
gent,  and  his  death  was  a  great  loss  to  the  enter 
prise.  His  companions  laid  him  away  in  the 
mission  burial-ground,  the  missionary,  Mr.  Anton, 
officiating. 

Before  leaving  Upernavik,  Dr.  Hayes  secured  the 
services  of  an  Esquimo  interpreter,  one  Peter  Jen 
sen,  who  brought  on  board  with  him  one  of  the  best 
dog-teams  of  the  country  ;  and  soon  after  he  came, 
two  more  Esquimo  hunters  and  dog-drivers  were 
enlisted ;  and  a  still  better  addition  to  the  expedi 
tion  were  two  Danish  sailors,  one  of  whom  is  our 
old  friend  whom  we  left  here  some  five  years  ago 
rejoicing  in  re-union  with  wife  and  children — Carl 


Off  Again.  ,237 

Christian  Petersen.  Petersen  enlisted  as  carpen 
ter  as  well  as  sailor. 

With  these  six  persons  added  to  her  company, 
making  it  twenty  in  all,  the  "  United  States  "  left 
Upernavik  to  enter  upon  the  earnest  work  of  the 
expedition.  The  settlement  had  scarcely  faded  in 
the  distance,  when  the  ice-bergs  were  seen  marshal 
ing  their  forces  to  give  the  little  voyager  battle. 
A  long  line  of  them  was  formed  just  across  her 
course,  some  more  than  two  hundred  feet  high  and 
a  mile  long.  They  were  numberless,  and  at  a  dis 
tance  seemed  to  make  a  solid,  jagged  ice-wall. 
When  the  schooner  was  fairly  in  among  them,  the 
sunlight  was  shut  out  as  it  is  from  the  traveler  in 
a  dense  forest.  She  felt  the  wind  in  a  "cat's- 
paw  "  now  and  then,  and  so  the  helm  lost  its  con 
trol  of  her,  and  she  went  banging  against  first  one 
berg  and  then  another.  The  bergs  themselves 
minded  not  the  little  breeze  which  was  blowing, 
but  swept  majestically  along  by  the  under  current. 
The  navigators  were  kept  on  the  alert  to  keep  the 
vessel  from  fatal  collision  with  its  huge,  cold,  de 
fiant  enemies,  as  the  surface  current  drove  it  help 
lessly  onward.  Sometimes,  as  they  approached 
one,  the  boats  were  lowered,  and  the  vessel  was 
towed  away  from  danger ;  at  another  crisis,  as  it 
neared  one  berg,  an  anchor  was  planted  in  an 
other  in  an  opposite  direction,  and  she  was  warped 
into  a  place  of  security.  Occasionally  they  tied 
up  to  a  berg  and  waited  for  a  chance  for  prog 
ress. 

While  thus  beset  with  dangers,  there  were  occa- 


238  NORTH- POLE  VOYAGES. 

sions  of  some  pleasant  excitement.  The  birds  were 
abundant  and  of  many  varieties,  affording  sport  for 
the  hunters  and  fresh  food  for  the  table ;  the  seals 
sported  in  the  clear  water,  and  were  shot  for  the 
larder  of  the  dogs  ;  and  Dr.  Hayes  and  Professor 
Sontag  found  employment  with  their  scientific  in 
struments. 

Such  had  been  the  state  of  things  for  four  days, 
when  one  morning  the  vessel  was  borne  toward  a 
large  berg,  of  a  kind  the  sailors  called  "  touch-me- 
nots."  It  was  an  old  voyager,  whose  jagged  sides, 
high  towers,  deep  valleys  and  swelling  hills,  showed 
that  time,  the  sun,  and  the  tides,  had  laid  their  hands 
upon  it.  Such  bergs  are  about  as  good  neighbors 
as  an  avalanche  on  a  mountain  side,  just  ready  for 
a  run  into  the  valley  below.  Warps  and  tow-boats, 
instantly  and  vigorously  used,  failed  to  stop  the 
schooner's  headway.  She  touched  the  berg,  and 
down  dropped  fragments  of  it  larger  than  the  ves 
sel,  followed  by  a  shower  of  smaller  pieces ;  but 
they  went  clear  of  the  vessel.  Now  the  berg  be 
gan  to  revolve,  turning  toward  the  explorers,  and 
as  its  towering  sides  settled  slowly  over  them,  frag 
ments  poured  upon  the  deck — a  fearful  hail-storm. 
There  was  no  safety  for  the  men  except  in  the 
forecastle,  and  there  appeared  to  be  no  escape  for 
the  schooner.  But  just  in  time  an  immense  sec 
tion  of  the  base  of  the  berg,  which  seemed  to  be 
far  below  the  water  line,  broke  off,  and  rose  to  the 
surface  with  a  sudden  rush,  which  threw  the  sea 
into  violent  commotion.  The  balance  of  the  berg 
was  changed ;  it  paused,  and  then  began,  slowly  at 


Off  Again.  239 

first  but  with  increasing  rapidity,  to  turn  in  the  op 
posite  direction.  If  this  was  intended  as  a  retreat 
of  the  bergy  foe,  it  defended  well  its  rear.  At  its 
base,  from  which  the  piece  had  just  been  broken, 
was  an  icy  projection  toward  the  vessel ;  as  the 
berg  revolved,  this  tongue  came  up  and  struck  the 
keel.  It  seemed  intent  upon  tossing  the  vessel 
into  the  air,  or  rolling  her  over  and  leaving  her  bot 
tom  side  up  upon  the  sea.  The  men  seized  their 
poles  and  pushed  vigorously  to  launch  the  vessel 
from  the  perilous  position,  but  in  vain.  Just  in 
time  again  the  unseen  Hand  interfered  for  their 
deliverance.  Deafening  reports,  like  a  park  of  ar 
tillery,  saluted  their  ears,  and  a  misty  smoke  arose 
above  the  berg.  Its  opposite  side  was  breaking  up, 
and  launching  its  towering  peaks  into  the  sea.  The 
berg  paused  again  and  began  to  roll  back,  and 
thus  for  the  moment  released  the  vessel.  The 
boat  had  in  the  meantime  fastened  an  anchor  in 
a  grounded  berg,  and  the  welcome  shout  came, 
"  Haul  in !  "  Steadily  and  with  a  will  the  men 
drew  upon  the  rope,  and  the  vessel  moved  slowly 
from  the  scene  of  danger,  not,  however,  before  the 
returning  top  of  the  berg  had  launched  upon  her 
deck  a  shower  of  ice-fragments,  in  fearful  assurance 
that  its  whole  side  would  soon  follow  and  bury 
them  as  the  shepherd's  hut  is  buried  by  a  moun 
tain  slide.  A  few  moments  later  and  the  side 
came  down  with  a  tremendous  crash,  sending  its 
spray. over  the  escaped  vessel,  and  tossing  it  as 
the  drift-wood  is  tossed  in  the  eddies  beneath  a 
water-fall. 


240  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

All  that  day  the  roar  of  the  icy  cannon  was  con 
tinued,  as  if  a  naval  battle  was  in  progress  for  the 
empire  of  the  north,  and  berg  after  berg  went 
down,  strewing  the  sea  with  their  shattered  frag 
ments,  while  misty  clouds  floated  over  the  field  of 
conflict. 


Colliding  Floes.  241 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

COLLIDING  FLOES. 

AFTER  this  ice  encounter  the  expedition  put 
into  a  little  port  called  Tessuissak,  to  com 
plete  their  outfit  of  dogs.  An  impatient  tarry  of 
two  days  enabled  them  to  count,  on  the  deck  of 
the  little  vessel,  thirty  first-class,  howling  dogs, 
whose  amiable  tempers  found  expression  in  biting 
each  other,  and  making  both  day  and  night  hide 
ous  with  their  noise. 

This  port  was  left  on  the  twenty-third  of  Au 
gust,  and,  much  to  the  joy  of  all,  the  dreaded 
Melville  Bay  was  clear  of  the  ice-pack ;  the  ice 
bergs,  however,  kept  their  watch  over  its  storm- 
tossed  waters.  Through  these  waters  driven  before 
a  fierce  wind,  and  buried  often  in.  a  fog  so  dense 
that  the  length  of  the  vessel  could  not  be  seen,  the 
"  United  States  "  sped.  Its  anxious  commander 
was  on  deck  night  and  day,  not  knowing  the  mo 
ment  when  an  icy  wall,  as  fatal  to  the  vessel  as 
one  of  granite,  might  arrest  its  course  and  send  it 
instantly  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Once  they 
passed  so  near  a  berg  just  crossing  their  track 
that  the  fore-yard  grazed  its  side,  and  the  spray 
from  its  surf-beaten  wall  was  thrown  upon  the 
deck.  A  berg  at  one  time  hove  in  sight  with  an 
arch  through  it  large  enough  for  a  passage-way  for 


242  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

the  schooner.  The  explorers  declined,  however, 
the  novel  adventure.  The  passage  of  Melville 
Bay  was  made,  with  sails  only,  in  fifty-five  hours. 
The  pack  which  had  invariably  troubled  explorers 
seemed  to  have  been  enjoying  a  summer  vacation, 
and  the  bergs  were  off  duty.  The  expedition 
had  reached  the  North  Water  and  lay  off  Cape 
York. 

The  ocean  current  which  sweeps  past  this  cape, 
and  opens  the  way  to  the  other  side  of  Baffin  Bay, 
is  wonderful.  It  is  the  great  Polar  current  which 
comes  rushing  down  through  Spitzbergen  Sea,  along 
the  eastern  coast  of  Greenland,  laden  with  ice,  and 
taking  the  waters  of  its  rivers  with  their  freight  of 
drift-wood  as  it  passes.  Leaving  most  of  the  wood 
along  its  shore,  a  welcome  gift  to  the  people,  it 
sweeps  around  Cape  Farewell,  courses  near  the 
western  shore  in  its  run  north  until  it  has  passed 
Melville  Bay.  When  it  has  crossed  over  to  the 
American  shore  near  Jones  Strait,  it  joins  the  cur 
rent  from  the  Arctic  Sea,  turns  south,  and  makes 
the  long  journey  until  it  reaches  our  own  coast, 
dropping  its  ice  freight  as  it  goes,  and  sending 
its  cooling  air  through  the  heat-oppressed  atmos 
phere  of  our  summer. 

As  our  explorers  approached  the  shore  of  Cape 
York  they  looked  carefully  for  the  natives.  Soon 
a  company  of  Esquimo  were  seen  making  their 
wild  gesticulations  to  attract  attention.  A  boat 
was  lowered,'  and  Dr.  Hayes  and  Professor  Sontag 
went  ashore,  and  as  they  approached  the  landing- 
place  one  of  the  Esquimo  called  them  by  name. 


Colliding  Floes.  243 

It  was  our  old  friend  Hans,  of  the  Kane  voyage, 
who,  the  reader  will  recollect,  left  his  white  friends 
for  an  Esquimo  wife.  The  group  consisted,  be 
sides  Hans,  of  his  wife  and  baby,  his  wife's  moth 
er,  an  old  woman  having  marked  talking  ability, 
and  her  son,  a  bright-eyed  boy  of  twelve  years. 
Hans  had  found  his  self-imposed  banishment  among 
the  savages  of  this  extreme  north  rather  tedious. 
He  had  removed  his  family  to  this  lookout  for  the 
whale  ships,  and  had  watched  and  waited.  It 
was  the  dreariest  of  places,  and  his  hut,  pitched 
on  a  bleak  spot  the  better  to  command  a  view  of 
the  sea,  was  the  most  miserable  of  abodes.  It 
had  plainly  cost  him  dear  to  break  his  faith  with 
his  confiding  commander  and  the  friends  of  his 
early  Christian  home. 

Dr.  Hayes  asked  Hans  if  he  would  go  with  the 
expedition.  He  answered  promptly,  "Yes." 

"  Would  you  take  your  wife  and  baby  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Would  you  go  without  them  ?  " 

"Yes." 

He  was  taken  on  board  with  his  wife  and  baby. 
The  mother  and  her  boy  cried  to  go,  but  the 
schooner  was  already  overcrowded. 

Leaving  Cape  York,  the  vessel  spread  her  sails 
before  a  "ten-knot  "  breeze,  and  dodging  the  ice 
bergs  with  something  of  a  reckless  daring,  seemed 
bent  on  reaching  the  Polar  Sea  before  winter  set 
in.  At  one  time  what  appeared  to  be  two  ice 
bergs  a  short  distance  apart  lay  in  the  course  of 
the  vessel.  The  helmsman  was  ordered  to  steer 


244  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

between  them,  for  to  go  round  involved  quite  a 
circuit.  On  dashed  the  brave  little  craft  for  the 
narrow  passage.  When  she  was  almost  abreast  of 
them  the  officer  on  the  lookout  shuddered  to  see 
that  the  seeming  bergs  were  but  one,  and  that  the 
connecting  ice  appeared  to  be  only  a  few  feet  below 
the  surface.  It  was  too  late  to  stop  the  headway  of 
the  vessel,  or  to  turn  her  to  the  right  or  left.  She 
rushed  onward,  but  the  water  of  the  opening 
proved  to  be  deeper  than  it  appeared,  and  her 
keel  but  touched  once  or  twice,  just  to  show  how 
narrow  was  the  escape. 

Hans  was  delighted  with  his  return  to  ship  life. 
His  wife  seemed  pleased  and  half  bewildered 
by  the  strange  surroundings.  The  baby  crowed, 
laughed,  and  cried,  and  ate  and  slept — like  other 
babies. 

The  sailors  put  the  new  comers  -through  a  soap- 
and-water  ordeal,  to  which  was  added  the  use  of 
scissors  and  combs.  Esquimo  do  not  bathe,  nor 
practice  the  arts  of  the  barber,  and  consequently 
they  keep  numerous  boarders  on  their  persons. 
When  this  necessary  cleansing  and  cropping  was 
done,  they  donned  red  shirts  and  other  luxuries 
of  civilization.  With  the  new  dresses  they  were 
delighted,  and  they  were  never  tired  of  strutting 
about  in  them.  But  the  soap  and  water  was  not 
so  agreeable.  At  first  it  was  taken  as  a  rough 
joke,  but  the  wife  soon  began  to  cry.  She  in 
quired  of  her  husband  if  it  was  a  religious  cere 
mony  of  the  white  men. 

The    vessel    made    good    time    until    she  came 


Colliding  Floes.  245 

within  three  miles  of  Cape  Alexander.  It  was 
now  August  twenty-eighth,  and  so  it  was  time 
these  Arctic  regions  should  begin  to  show  their 
peculiar  temper.  A  storm  came  down  upon  them, 
pouring  the  vials  of  its  wrath  upon  the  shivering 
vessel  for  about  three  days.  During  a  lull  in  the 
storm  the  schooner  was  hauled  under  the  shelter 
of  the  highlands  of  Cape  Alexander  and  anchored. 
She  rocked  and  plunged  fearfully.  At  one  time 
when  these  gymnastics  were  going  on,  the  old 
Swedish  cook  came  to  the  commander  in  the  cabin 
with  refreshments,  but  he  was  hardly  able  to  keep 
his  "sea  legs."  He  remarks  as  he  comes  in,  *' I 
falls  down  once,  but  de  commander  sees  I  keeps 
de  coffee.  It's  good  an'  hot,  and  very  strong,  and 
go  right  down  into  de  boots." 

"  Bad  night  on  deck,  cook,"  remarks  the  captain. 

"O,  it's  awful,  sar!  I  never  see  it  blow  so  hard 
in  all  my  life,  an'  I's  followed  de  sea  morn'n  forty 
years.  An'  den  it's  so  cold  !  My  galley  is  full  of 
ice,  and  de  water,  it  freeze  on  my  stove." 

"  Here,  cook,  is  a  guernsey  for  you.  It  will 
keep  you  warm." 

"  Tank  you,  sar ! "  says  the  cook,  starting  off 
with  his  prize.  But  encouraged  by  the  kind  bear 
ing  of  his  captain,  he  stops  and  asks,  "  Would  the 
commander  be  so  kind  as  to  tell  me  where  we  is  ? 
De  gentlemen  fool  me." 

"  Certainly,  cook.    The  land  over  there  is  Green 
land  ;    the  big  cape   is  Cape  Alexander;  beyond 
that  is  Smith's  Sound,  and  we  are  only  about  eight 
hundred  miles  from  the  North  Pole." 
16 


246  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

"  De  Nort  Pole  !  vere's  dat  ?  " 

The  commander  explains  as  well  as  he  can. 

"  Tank  you,  sar.     Vat  for  we  come — to  fish  ?  " 

"  No,  not  to  fish,  cook;  for  science." 

"  O,  dat  it !  Dey  tell  me  we  come  to  fish.  Tank 
you,  sar." 

The  old  cook  pulls  his  greasy  cap  over  his  bald 
head  and  thinks.  "  Science  !  "  "  De  Nort  Pole  !  " 
He  dont  get  the  meaning  of  these  through  his 
cap,  and  he  "  tumbles  up  "  the  companion-ladder, 
and  goes  to  the  galley  to  enjoy  his  guernsey. 

Dr.  Hayes  and  Knorr  went  ashore  and  climbed 
to  the  top  of  the  cliffs,  twelve  hundred  feet.  The 
wind  was  fearfully  breezy,  and  Knorr's  cap  left 
and  went  sailing  like  a  feather  out  to  sea.  The 
view  was  full  of  arctic  grandeur,  but  not  flattering 
to  the  storm-bound  navigators.  Ice  was  evidently 
king  a  little  farther  north. 

Soon  after  the  explorer's  return  to  the  vessel 
the  storm  gathered  fresh  power,  and  the  anchors 
began  to  drag.  Soon  one  hawser  parted,  and 
away  went  the  schooner,  with  fearful  velocity,  and 
brought  up  against  a  berg.  The  crash  was  appall 
ing,  and  the  stern  boat  flew  into  splinters.  The 
spars  were  either  bent  or  carried  away ;  and,  as 
they  attempted  to  hoist  the  mainsail,  it  went  to 
pieces.  The  crippled  craft  was  with  difficulty 
worked  back  into  the  projecting  covert  of  Cape 
Alexander.  Her  decks  were  covered  with  ice, 
and  the  dogs  were  perishing  with  wet  and  cold, 
three  having  died. 

Having  repaired  damages  as  well  as  they  could, 


Colliding  Floes.  247 

they  again  pushed  into  the  pack  of  Smith's  Sound, 
which  lay  between  them  and  open  water,  visible 
far  to  the  north.  Entering  a  lead  under  full  sail, 
they  made  good  progress  for  awhile  ;  but  suddenly 
a  solid  floe  shot  across  the  channel,  and  the  vessel, 
with  full  head-way,  struck  it  like  a  battering  ram. 
The  cut-water  flew  into  splinters,  and  the  iron 
sheathing-  of  the  bows  was  torn  off  as  if  it  had 
been  paper. 

Pushing  off  from  the  floe,  and  passing  through 
a  narrow  lead,  they  emerged  into  an  area  of  open 
water.  But  the  floe  was  on  the  alert.  This  began 
to  close  up,  and,  taking  a  hint  of  foul  play,  the 
explorers  steered  toward  the  shore.  But  the  ice 
battalions  moved  with  celerity,  piled  up  across  the 
vessel's  bow,  and  closed  in  on  every  side.  In  an 
hour  they  held  her  as  in  a  vice,  while  the  reserve 
force  was  called  up  to  crush  her  to  atoms.  The 
foe  was  jubilant,  for  the  power  at  his  command 
was  kindred  to  that  of  the  earthquake.  An  ice 
field  of  millions  of  tons,  moved  by  combined  wind 
and  current,  rushed  upon  the  solid  ice-field  which 
rested  against  the  immovable  rocks  of  the  shore. 
Between  these  was  the  schooner — less  than  an 
egg-shell  between  colliding,  heavily  laden  freight 
trains.  As  the  pressure  came  steadily,  in  well 
assured  strength,  she  groaned  and  shrieked  like  a 
thing  of  conscious  pain,  writhing  and  twisting  as 
if  striving  to  escape  her  pitiless  adversary.  Her 
deck  timbers  bowed,  and  the  seams  of  the  deck- 
planks  opened,  while  her  sides  seemed  ready  to 
yield. 


248  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

Thus  far  the  closing  forces  were  permitted  to 
strike  severely  on  the  side  of  the  helpless  vessel, 
to  show  that  they  could  crush  her  as  rotten  fruit 
is  crushed  in  a  strong  man's  hand.  Then  He, 
without  whose  permission  no  force  in  nature 
moves,  and  at  whose  word  they  are  instantly 
stayed,  directed  the  floe  under  the  strongly  tim 
bered  "  bilge  "  of  the  hull,  and,  with  a  jerk  which 
sent  the  men  reeling  about  the  deck,  lifted  the 
vessel  out  of  the  water.  The  floes  now  fought 
their  battle  out  beneath  her,  as  if  they  disdained, 
like  the  lion  with  the  mouse  in  his  paw,  to  crush 
so  small  a  thing.  Great  ridges  were  piled  up 
about  her,  and  one  underneath  lifted  her  high  into 
the  air.  Eight  hours  she  remained  in  this  situa 
tion,  while  the  lives  of  all  on  board  seemed  sus 
pended  on  the  slenderest  thread. 

Then  came  the  yielding  and  breaking  up  of  the 
floes.  Once,  at  the  commencing  of  the  giving 
way,  an  ice  prop  of  the  bows  suddenly  yielded, 
let  the  forward  end  of  the  vessel  down  while  the 
stern  was  high  in  the  air.  But  finally  the  battered 
craft  settled  squarely  into  the  water. 

She  was  leaking  badly,  and  the  pumps  were 
kept  moving  with  vigor.  The  rudder  was  split, 
and  two  of  its  bolts  broken ;  the  stern-post 
started,  and  fragments  of  the  cut-water  and  keel 
were  floating  away.  But,  strange  to  say,  no  essen 
tial  injury  was  done.  She  was  slowly  navigated 
into  Hartstene  or  Etah  Bay,  where  we  have  been 
so  often,  anchored  safely,  and  repairs  immediately 
commenced. 


The   Winter  Home.  249 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

THE     WINTER     HOME. 

ONE  more  effort,  after  the  repairs  were  fin 
ished,  was  made  to  push  through  the  ice 
floe  of  Smith's  Sound.  This  resulting  in  failure, 
it  was  plainly  impossible  to  get  farther  north. 
The  vessel  was  brought  into  Etah  Bay  again,  a 
harbor  found  eight  miles  north-east  of  Cape  Alex 
ander,  and  eighty  by  the  coast  from  the  harbor  of 
the  "  Advance,"  though  only  twenty  in  a  straight 
line,  and  preparations  were  at  once  begun  for  win 
ter.  Peter,  the  Esquimo  dog-driver,  and  Hans 
were  appointed  a  hunting  party.  Sontag,  the 
astronomer,  with  three  assistants,  was  mainly  en 
gaged  in  scientific  observations  and  experiments. 
There  was  work  for  all  the  rest.  Some  were  en 
gaged  in  unloading  the  cargo  and  lifting  it  by  a 
derrick  to  a  terrace  on  the  shore,  far  above  the 
highest  tide,  where  a  storehouse  was  made  for  it. 
The  hold  of  the  schooner  was  cleared,  scrubbed, 
and  white-washed,  a  stove  set  up,  and  made  a 
home  for  the  sailors.  The  sails  and  yards  were 
"  sent  down,"  the  upper  deck  roofed  in,  making  a 
house  eight  feet  high  at  the  ridge,  and  six  and  a 
half  at  the  sides. 

The  crew  moved  into  their  new  quarters  on  the 
first  of  October.     The  event  was  celebrated  by  a 


250  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

holiday  dinner.  There  was  joy  on  shipboard; 
thankful  for  escapes  granted  by  the  great  Pro 
tector,  trustful  for  the  future,  and,  greatly  encour 
aged  by  present  blessings,  none  were  unhappy. 
The  hunters  were  very  successful,  bringing  in 
every  day  game  of  the  best  kind,  and  in  great 
abundance.  A  dozen  reindeer  were  suspended 
'from  the  shrouds,  and  clusters  of  rabbits  and 
foxes  were  hung  in  the  rigging;  besides  these, 
deposits  of  reindeer  were  made  in  various  direc 
tions.  The  hard-working  men  ate  heartily  of  the 
relishing  fresh  food,  and  laughed  to  scorn  the 
scurvy.  They  called  the  place  of  their  winter 
quarters  Port  Foulke. 

When  the  floe  became  frozen,  the  sledges  were 
put  in  readiness  for  the  dog-teams.  The  dogs 
having  been  well  fed,  were  in  fine  condition. 

Blocks  of  ice  were  used  to  make  a  wall  about 
the  vessel,  from  the  floe  to  the  deck,  between 
which  and  her  sides  the  snow  was  crowded,  mak 
ing  a  solid  defense  against  the  cold. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  October  the  sun  bade  them 
farewell  for  four  months,  and  they  anticipated  the 
coming  darkness  under  circumstances  certainly 
much  better  than  had  been  often  granted  to  arctic 
sojourners. 

As  there  was  yet  a  long  twilight,  dog-trips  were 
very  exhilarating.  Dr.  Hayes  once  rode  behind 
his  dogs  twelve  measured  miles  in  an  hour  and 
one  minute,  without  a  moment's  halt.  Sontag  and 
the  captain  raced  their  teams,  the  captain  beat 
ing,  as  was  becoming,  by  four  minutes. 


The  Winter  Home.  251 

The  dogs  were  made  to  know  their  masters — a 
knowledge  quite  necessary  for  the  good  of  all. 
Jensen  observed  that  one  of  his  team  was  getting 
rebellious.  "You  see  dat  beast,"  he  said.  "I 
takes  a  piece  out  of  his  ear."  The  long  lash  un 
rolls,  the  sinewy  snapper  on  its  tip  touches  the  tip 
of  the  dog's  ear,  and  takes  out  a  piece  as  neatly  as 
a  sharp  knife  would  have  done. 

The  same  day  Jensen's  skill  at  dog  driving  was 
put  to  a  severe  test.  A  fox  crossed  their  path. 
Up  went  their  tails,  curling  over  their  backs,  their 
short  ears  pricked  forward,  and  away  they  went  in 
full  chase.  In  such  a  case  woe  be  to  the  driver 
who  cannot  take  a  piece  of  flesh  out  of  any  dog  in 
the  team  at  each  snap  of  his  merciless  whip.  Jen 
sen  was  usually  master  of  such  a  situation,  but  it 
so  happened  that  a  strong  wind  blew  directly  in 
the  face  of  the  team  and  carried  the  lash  back  be 
fore  it  reached  its  victim.  Missing  its  terrible 
bite,  the  dogs  became  for  a  while  unmanageable 
and  raced  after  the  fox  at  full  speed.  To  make 
matters  worse,  treacherous  ice  lay  just  ahead. 
The  dogs  were  already  on  the  heels  of  the  fox,  and 
about  to  make  a  meal  of  him,  when  Jensen  regained 
full  control  of  his  whip.  It  stung  severely,  now 
this  one  and  then  that.  Their  tails  dropped,  their 
ears  drooped,  and  they  paused  and  obeyed  their 
master.  But  they  were  greatly  provoked  at  the 
loss  of  the  game,  and  at  the  harsh  subjection,  and, 
with  characteristic  amiability,  they  commenced  to 
snap  at  and  bite  each  other.  Jensen  jumped  from 
the  sledge  and  laid  the  whip-stock  on  them,  knock- 


252  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

ing  them  to  the  right  and  left,  until,  it  is  presumed, 
made  very  loving  by  the  process,  they  went  about 
their  assigned  business. 

Parties 'of  the  explorers  were  out  nearly  every 
day,  hunting,  or  pursuing  the  scientific  inquiries. 

Knorr,  the  secretary  of  the  commander,  was 
off  with  Hans.  He  had  his  adventure  to  talk  about 
on  his  return.  He  wounded  in  the  valley  a  rein 
deer,  which  hobbled  on  three  legs  up  a  steep 
hill.  'The  young  hunter  followed,  and,  getting 
within  easy  range,  brought  it  down  by  a  well-aimed 
shot.  The  deer  being  in  a  line  with  Knorr,  came 
sliding  down  the  hill,  and,  knocking  against  him, 
both  went  tumbling  down  together.  Fortunate 
ly  he  carried  no  broken  bones,  but  only  bruises 
to  the  vessel  as  mementoes  of  his  deer  hunt. 

Sontag,  on  the  same  day,  had  his  perilous  inci 
dent.  He  had  climbed  to  the  top  of  a  glacier  by 
cutting  steps  in  the  ice.  Across  the  ice  was  a 
crack,  bridged  over  with  thin  ice,  but  entirely  con 
cealed  by  it.  Stepping  on  this  he  broke  through 
and  fell  into  the  chasm ;  fortunately  it  was  a  nar 
row  one,  and  the  barometer  which  he  carried, 
crossing  the  creek,  broke  the  fall  and  probably 
saved  his  life.  On  what  a  slender  thread  hangs 
this  mortal  existence ! 

During  this  sledging  season  Dr.  Hayes  visited 
the  homes  of  our  old  acquaintance  at  Etah,  which 
was  only  four  miles  from  the  schooner;  but  they 
were  deserted.  Near  the  huts  was  a  splendid 
buck,  busily  engaged  in  pawing  up  and  eating  the 
moss  from  under  the  snow.  He  seemed  so  unsus- 


The  Winter  Home.  253 

pecting,  and  withal  so  honestly  engaged,  that  the 
doctor,  though  he  had  crept  on  the  leeward  side, 
within  easy  range,  was  reluctant  to  fire.  Twice 
he  aimed,  and  twice  dropped  his  gun  from  its  lev 
el.  Bringing  it  to  sight  the  third  time  he  fired,  and 
the  ball  went  crashing  through  the  noble  animal. 
We  hear  nothing  of  compunction  in  eating  him  on 
the  part  of  any  on  shipboard,  and  probably  the 
pitying  reader  would  have  had  none. 

Our  old  friend  Hans  does  not  appear  so  favor 
ably  in  the  present  narrative  as  he  did  in  that  of 
Dr.  Kane.  His  five  years  of  chosen  exile  among 
his  purely  heathen  countrymen  does  not  seem  to 
have  left  many  traces  of  his  Christian  education. 
Some  allowance,  however,  must  be  made  for  a  dif 
ference  of  estimate  of  his  character  by  his  former 
and  present  commander.  In  Dr.  Hayes's  judg 
ment,  "  he  is  a  type  of  the  worst  phase  of  the  Es- 
quimo  character." 

Hans's  domestic  relations  are  represented  as 
not  of  the  most  happy  kind.  His  wife's  name  is 
Merkut,  but  is  known  to  the  sailors  as  "  Mrs. 
Hans."  She  passes  for  a  u  beauty,"  as  Esquimo 
beauty  goes ;  has  a  flush  of  red  on  rather  a  fair 
cheek  when,  exceptionally,  she  uses  soap  and 
water  enough  for  it  to  be  seen  through  the  usual 
coating  of  dirt.  Their  baby,  ten  months'  old,  bears 
the  pleasant  name  of  Pingasuk — "  Pretty  One." 
Hans  has  a  household  of  his  own.  He  pitched  a 
tent,  when  the  schooner  went  into  winter-quarters, 
under  the  roof  of  the  upper  deck.  The  Esquimo 
Marcus  and  Jacob  make  a  part  of  his  family. 


254  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

Here,  wrapped  in  their  furs,  where  they  choose 
to  be,  they  huddle  together,  warm  "  as  fleas  in 
a  rug,"  though  the  temperature  is  seldom  higher 
than  about  the  freezing  point.  Little  "  Pretty 
One  "  creeps  out  of  the  tent  about  the  deck,  hav 
ing  for  covering  only  the  ten  months'  accumula 
tion  of  grease  and  dirt,  not  unfrequently  accompa 
nied  by  its  mother,  who  on  such  occasion  is  guilt 
less  of  "costly  array,"  or  much  of  any  whatever. 
Hans's  gentlemen  lodgers  were  taken  on  board 
as  dog-drivers,  but  they  seemed  to  have  been  of 
no  possible  use  except  to  give  occasion  for  the 
mirthful  jokes  of  the  sailors. 

Peter,  chief  dog  manager,  a  converted  Esquimo, 
brother  to  Jacob,  gave  his  commander  excellent 
satisfaction  and  stood  high  in  his  esteem.  He  was 
skillful,  industrious,  and  trustworthy.  Between  him 
and  Hans  an  intense  jealousy  existed.  Hans  had, 
under  Dr.  Kane,  no  rival  in  his  sphere.  Peter  was 
now,  at  least,  a  peer,  and  so  the  glory  of  his  exal 
tation  from  Esquimo  hut-life  was  greatly  eclipsed. 
His  master  even  preferred  Peter  before  him ;  but 
Prof.  Sontag  clung,  with  a  little  of  the  Dr.  Kane 
partiality,  to  the  favorite  of  the  former  voyage. 

Hans  had  no  reason,  however,  to  complain  of  the 
consideration  shown  him  by  his  chief.  At  one 
time  he  gave  him,  to  quiet  his  jealousy,  a  new  suit 
of  clothes,  with  the  very  reddest  of  flannel  shirts. 
In  these  he  appeared  at  the  Sunday  inspection 
and  religious  service,  quite  as  elated  at  his  per 
sonal  adornment,  though  probably  not  more  so,  as 
the  "  fine  gents  "  of  our  home  Sabbath  assemblies. 


Glaciers.  255 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

GLACIERS. 

THE  glacier  is  one  of  the  wonderful  things 
of  the  northern  regions.  We  will  visit  one 
with  Dr.  Hayes,  and,  on  .our  return  to  the  vessel, 
listen  to  some  curious  and  interesting  facts  con 
cerning  it.  Although  there  was  no  sunshine  at  the 
time  of  the  first  glacier  excursion,  the  twilight  was 
long  and  clear  ;  it  was  October  twenty-first.  The 
run  was  made  to  the  foot  of  the  glacier  from  the 
vessel,  with  the  dogs,  in  forty  minutes.  It  ap 
peared  here  as  a  great  ice-wall,  one  hundred  feet 
high  and  a  mile  broad.  The  glacier  in  descend 
ing  the  valley  extended  in  breadth  not  quite  to 
the  slope  of  the  hills,  so  it  left  between  them  and 
each  of  its  sides  a  gorge.  It  is  very  curious  that 
the  ice  should  not  lean  against  the  hills  as  it 
slips  along  and  thus  fill  up  all  the  valley  as  water 
would. 

Our  party  first  stopped  and  examined  the  front 
face  of  the  glacier.  It  was  nearly  perpendicular, 
but  bulging  out  a  little  in  the  middle.  It  was 
worn  in  places  by  the  summer  streams  which  run 
over  it,  and  marred  in  other  parts  by  the  fall  of 
great  fragments  into  the  valley  below.  While  our 
visitors  were  gazing  at  it  a  crystal  block  came 
down  as  an  angry  hint  for  them  to  stand  from 


256  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

under.  Wisely  heeding  the  warning,  they  turned  up 
one  of  the  gorges  between  the  glacier  side  and  the 
hill.  Here  was  rough  traveling,  and,  we  should 
think,  dangerous  too.  There  were  strewed  along 
in  their  path  ice  fragments  from  the  glacier  on 
one  side,  and  rocks  and  earth  which  had  slid 
down  the  hill  on  the  other.  If  the  glacier  was  as 
evil  disposed  as  its  children,  the  icebergs,  it  might 
let  loose  some  of  its  projecting  crags  on  their  heads. 

Finding  a  favorable  place,  they  began  to  cut 
steps  in  the  side  of  the  glacier  in  order  to  mount 
to  its  surface.  Having  reached  the  top  they  cau 
tiously  walked  to  the  center  of  the  icy  stream, 
drove  two  stakes  on  a  line  in  it,  and  then  two  half 
way  between  these  and  the  sides  of  the  glacier. 
Then  they  measured  the  distance  of  these  stakes 
from  each  other,  and  sighted  from  their  tops  fixed 
objects  on  the  hills.  They  purposed  to  come  in  the 
spring  and  examine  the  distance  apart  of  the  stakes, 
and  sight  from  them  the  fixed  objects,  so  as  to  de 
termine  how  fast  the  frozen  river  was  moving  down 
the  valley.  Having  set  the  stakes  they  scampered 
back  to  the  vessel. 

After  a  little  rest  another  journey  to  the  glacier 
was  made,  this  time  without  the  dogs,  the  sledges, 
having  a  light  outfit,  being  drawn  by  the  men. 
These  were  young  Knorr,  the  sailor  M'Donald, 
Mr.  Heywood,  a  landsman  from  the  west — an  am 
ateur  explorer — the  Dane,  Petersen,  and  the  Es- 
quimo,  Peter.  When  they  arrived  at  the  gorge, 
the  way  was  so  rough  that  they  were  compelled  to 
carry  the  sledge  loads  in  parcels  on  their  backs. 


Glaciers.  257 

It  was  rough  work,  and  they  sought  an  early  camp  ; 
but  with  the  frowning  ice-cliffs  on  one  side  and  hill- 
crags  on  the  other,  both  evil-minded  in  the  use  of 
their  icy  and  rocky  missiles,  and  with  also  the  un 
even  bed  of  rocks  beneath  them,  no  wonder  they 
did  not  sleep.  They  were  soon  astir,  pushed  far 
ther  up  the  gorge,  and  finding  a  favorable  place, 
began  to  cut  steps  up  the  glacier.  The  first  one 
who  attempted  to  mount  reached  some  distance, . 
then  slipped,  and  in  sliding  down  carried  with 
him  his  companions  who  were  following,  and 
the  whole  company  were  promiscuously  tumbled 
into  the  gorge.  The  one  going  ahead  had  better 
luck  the  next  trial,  carrying  a  rope  by  which  the 
sledge  was  drawn  up,  and  all  mounted  in  safety. 

They  now  started  off  up  this  ice-river  toward 
the  great  sea  of  ice  from  whence  it  flowed.  The 
surface  was  at  first  rough,  and  of  course  slightly 
descending  toward  its'  front  edge.  Dr.  Hayes 
walked  in  advance  of  the  sledge  party,  carrying  a 
pole  over  his  head  grasped  by  both  hands,  being 
fearful  of  the  treacherous  cracky  hidden  by  their 
ice.  Soon  down  he  went  into  one,  but  the  pole 
reached  across  the  chasm  and  he  scrambled  out. 
The  depth  of  the  chasm  remains  a  mystery  to  this 
day.  The  ice  grew  smoother  as  they  proceeded, 
and  they  made  about  five  miles,  pitched  their  can 
vas  tents,  cooked  with  their  lamp  a  good  supper, 
made  coffee,  ate  and  drank  like  weary  men,  crept 
into  their  fur  sleeping  bags,  and  slept  soundly 
though  the  thermometer  was  about  fifteen  degrees 
below  zero.  The  next  day  they  traveled  thirty 


258  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

miles,  and  came  upon  an  even  plain  where  the 
surface  of  the  ice-sea  was  covered  with  many  feet 
of  snow,  the  crust  of  which  broke  through  at  every 
step.  This  made  very  hard  traveling,  yet  the  fol 
lowing  day  they  tramped  twenty-five  miles  more. 
Now  came  the  ever-at-hand  Arctic  storm.  They 
camped,  but  lower  and  lower  fell  the  temperature, 
and  fiercer  and  fiercer  blew  the  wind.  They  could 
not  sleep,  so  they  decided  to  turn  their  faces  home 
ward.  The  frost  nipped  their  fingers,  and  assailed 
their  faces  as  they  hastily  packed  up  and  started. 
They  were  five  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and  seventy  miles  from  the  coast,  and 
were  standing  in  the  midst- of  a  vast  icy  desert. 
There  was  neither  mountain  nor  hill  in  sight.  As 
in  mid-ocean  the  sailor  beholds  the  sea  bounded 
only  by  the  sky,  so  here  they  beheld  only  ice,  which 
stretched  away  to  the  horizon  on  every  side — truly 
a  sea  of  ice.  Clouds  of  snow  whirled  along  its 
surface,  at  times  rising  and  disappearing  in  the 
cold  air,  or  drifted  across  the  face  of  the  setting 
moon — beautiful  clouds  of  fleecy  whiteness  to  the 
eye,  but  "  burning  "  the  flesh  as  .they  pelted  the 
retreating  explorers,  like  the  fiery  sand-clouds  of 
the  Great  Sahara.  They  scud  before  the  wind, 
which  they  dared  not  for  a  moment  face,  nor 
halted  until  they  had  traveled  forty  miles  and 
descended  two  thousand  feet.  They  then  pitched 
their  tents,  the  cold  and  wind  having  lessened 
though  yet  severe.  They  arrived  at  the  ship  the 
next  evening,  not  seriously  the  worse  for  their  dar 
ing  "  sea-voyage  "  on  foot. 


Glaciers.  259 

Having  been  refreshed  by  food  and  rest,  no 
doubt  our  explorers  discussed  the  great  glacier 
problem,  and  pleasantly  chased  away  many  an 
hour  in  talk  about  what  they  had  seen  and  what 
they  had  read  on  this  interesting  subject.  We 
think  their  conversation  included  some  of  the  fol 
lowing  facts  : — 

The  ice  upon  which  they  had  been  voyaging  is 
a  part  of  a  great  ocean  of  ice  covering  the  cen 
tral  line  of  Greenland  from  Cape  Farewell  on  the 
south  to  the  farthest  known  northern  boundary, 
a  distance  of  at  least  twelve  hundred  miles.  In 
stead  of  being  formed  of  drops  of  water  like  more 
southern  oceans,  it  is  made  up  of  crystallized  dew- 
drops  and  snow-flakes,  which  have  been  falling  for 
ages,  and  which  in  these  cold  regions  have  no 
summer  long  enough,  nor  of  sufficient  heat,  to  con 
vert  them  into  water  again. 

But  if  the  crystal  dews  and  snows  continue  to 
fall  for  ages,  and  never  melt,  what  prevents  them 
from  piling  up  to  the  sky,  and  sinking  the  very 
continent  ?  The  all-wise  Director  of  the  universe 
has  made  a  very  curious  arrangement  to  prevent 
such  a  result.  This  ice-ocean  runs  off  into  the 
sea  in  great  ice-rivers  which  find  their  way  to  the 
shore  on  both  sides  of  the  continent,  just  as  the 
water  does  which  falls  from  the  clouds  on  the  top 
of  the  Andes  of  South.  America.  There  we  see 
the  mighty  Amazon,  one  of  its  rivers,  almost  an 
ocean  of  itself,  as  it  sweeps  along  its  banks  be 
tween  mountains,  and  through  immense  forests. 
Greenland  has  its  Amazons  in  vastness  and  grand- 


26O  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

eur,  as  well  as  its  smaller  rivers  and  little  streams. 
It  has  also  its  lakes  and  sublime  Niagaras,  its  falls 
and  cascades.  But  they  are  ice  instead  of  water; 
that  is  all  the  difference  between  this  Arctic  cir 
culation  and  that  of  warmer  regions. 

But  of  course  this  ice  is  not  like  that  which 
many  of  the  readers  see  every  winter.  It  is  a  half- 
solid,  pasty  kind  of  substance.  It  holds  together, 
yet  slides  along  from  the  higher  land  where  it  ac 
cumulates,  filling  up  the  valleys,  breaking  through 
the  openings  in  the  mountain  and  hilly  ridges,  and 
pouring  over  the  precipices;  slowly,  silently,  but 
•with  mighty  force,  ever  pressing  onward  until  it 
reaches  the  sea. 

These  ice  rivers  move  very  slowly.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Dr.  Hayes  drove  some  stakes 
down  in  the  one  he  visited  in  October.  In  the 
following  July  he  visited  the  glacier  again,  and 
compared  the  relation  of  these  to  the  landmarks 
he  had  noted.  He  thus  found  that  this  ice-river 
moved  over  one  hundred  feet  a  year.  It  had 
come  down  the  valley  ten  miles.  Two  more 
miles  would  bring  it  to  the  sea.  Some  glacier 
streams  which  they  visited  were  yet  many  miles 
from  the  shore,  one  as  far  away  as  sixty  miles. 
The  Great  Glacier  of  Humboldt,  farther  north, 
was  several  times  visited  by  Dr.  Kane  and  parties 
of  his  explorers.  Its  face  is  a  solid,  glassy  wall 
three  hundred  feet  above  the  water-level,  and 
extending  from  Cape  Agassiz,  a  measured  dis 
tance  north,  of  sixty  miles,  and  then  disappear 
ing  in  the  unknown  polar  regions.  Surely  this 


Glaciers.  261 

must    be    the    mouth    of    the   Amazon   of  glacier 
rivers. 

But  the   history  of  these   rivers  does   not  end 
when  they  reach  the  sea.     When  their  broad  and 
high  glassy  front    touches  the  water  it  does  not 
melt  away  nor  fall  to  pieces,  but  goes  down  to  the 
bottom,  and  if  it  be  a  shallow  bay  or  arm  of  the 
sea,  pushes  the  water  back  and  fills  up  the  whole 
space,  it  may  be  for  many  miles.     When  it  reaches 
water  so  deep  that  more  than  seven  eighths  of  its 
front  is  below  the  surface,  it  begins  to  feel  an  up 
ward  pressure,  just  as  a  piece  of  wood  when  forced 
below  its  natural  water-line  will  spring  back.     So 
after  a  while  this  upward  pressure  breaks  off  the 
massive  front,  perhaps  miles  in  extent,  and  many 
hundred  feet  in  height.     As  this  is  launched  into 
the  sea  its  thunder  crash  is  heard  for  miles,  and 
the  water  boils  like  a  caldron,  while  the  disengaged 
.mass  rolls  and  plunges   until,  finding  its  equilib 
rium,  it  sails  away  a  majestic    ICEBERG.      Here 
after  the  snow  will  at  times  cover  it  with  a  mantle 
of  pure  whiteness  ;  the  fierce  storms  will  beat  upon 
its  defiant  brow  ;  the  beams  of  the  rising  and  set 
ting   sun   will    display  their  sparkling    glories   on 
its  craggy  top,  or,  falling   upon  the    misty  cloud 
which  envelopes    it,  will    encircle  it  with  all  the 
varying  hues  of  the   rainbow.     As   it  voyages  in 
stately  dignity  southward,  anchored,  it  may  be,  at 
times  for  months,  it  will  pass  in  sullen  silence  the 
drear,   long,  dark   Arctic   night,  and  emerge  into 
the   brief  summer  to  be    enlivened  as  the  home 
of  innumerable  sea-fowl,  who  will  rear  their  young 
17 


262  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

upon  its  cold  breast.  Ultimately  it  will  go  back 
to  the  drops  of  water  from  which  it  came,  to  make 
a  part  of  the  great  ocean,  and  possibly  to  sail 
away  in  clouds  over  the  frozen  regions,  and  to 
drop  again  upon  its  glassy  plain  in  sparkling 
crystals. 


A  Strange  Dream  and  its  Fulfillment.    263 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

A   STRANGE    DREAM    AND    ITS    FULFILLMENT. 

THE  winter  was  fully  settled  down  upon  Port 
Foulke,  but  the  dwellers  in  the  schooner 
"  United  States  "  knew  nothing  of  the  anxieties 
and  suffering  from  cold  and  hunger  which  most  of 
the  arctic  voyagers  have  known.  There  was  one 
foe,  however,  which  they,  in  common  with  all  who 
had  gone  before  them,  had  to  fight ;  namely,  de 
pression  of  mind  produced  by  the  weeks  of  inac 
tivity  and  darkness.  We  have  seen  how  many 
means  were  used  by  earlier  as  well  as  later  explor 
ers  to  meet  and  vanquish  this  foe.  Dr.  Hayes 
availed  himself  of  the  hints  given  by  his  prede 
cessors,  and  had  some  devices  peculiarly  his  own. 
To  the  "  school  of  navigation,"  dramatic  perform 
ances,  and  the  publishing  of  a  weekly  "  news 
paper,"  was  added  the  pleasant  stimulus  of  a  cele 
bration  of  the  birthday  of  every  man  on  board. 
Such  occasions  were  attended  by  special  dinners, 
the  passing  of  complimentary  notes  of  invitations 
to  the  intended  guests,  which  included  all,  and  by 
fun-making,  at  which  all  laughed  as  a  matter  of 
course. 

On  Sunday  all  assembled  in  their  clean  and 
best  suits.  Brief  religious  service  was  performed 
in  the  presence  of  all,  and  the  day  was  spent  in 


264  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

reading  or  conversation,  save  the  performance  of 
the  necessary  routine  work. 

During  the  favoring  light  of  the  moon  some 
excursions  were  attempted.  One  was  made  by 
Professor  Sontag,  accompanied  by  Hans  and  Jen 
sen  with  two  dog  sledges.  The  object  was  to 
reach  the  harbor  where  Dr.  Kane's  "Advance" 
had  been  left,  and  ascertain  if  possible  her  fate. 
He  started  early  in  November,  but  returned  in  a 
few  days,  baffled  by  the  hummocks  and  wide 
intervening,  treacherous  ice-cracks.  The  party 
had  an  encounter  with  and  captured  a  bear  and 
her  cub.  The  mother  fought  with  maternal  fury 
for  her  child,  tossed  the  dogs  one  after  another 
until  some  of  the  stoutest  and  bravest  retired 
bleeding  and  yelping  from  the  field,  and  at  times 
charged  upon  and  scattered  the  whole  pack,  while 
the  cub  itself  behaved  bravely  in  its  own  defense. 
When  the  men  came  up  they  threw  in,  of  course, 
the  fatal  odds  of  rifle  balls.  Once  Hans,  his  gun 
having  failed  to  go  off,  seized  an  Esquimo  lance 
and  ran  at  the  beast.  Accepting  the  challenge  of  a 
hand-to-hand  fight,  she  made  at  him  with  such 
spirit  that  he  dropped  the  lance  and  ran,  and 
nothing  saved  the  cub  from  supping  on  Esquimo 
meat  but  two  well-directed  balls,  which  whizzed  at 
the  right  moment  from  the  guns  of  Sontag  and 
Jensen.  The  bears  made  a  splendid  resistance  to 
the  unprovoked  attack  upon  them  in  the  peace 
able  pursuit  of  an  honest  calling,  that  of  getting 
a  living,  but  were  conquered  and  eaten. 

Among  the  sad  events  of  the  winter  was  a  fatal 


A  Strange  Dream  and  its  Fulfillment.    265 

disease  among  the  dogs.  They  all  died  but  nine 
by  the  middle  of  December.  This  was  alarming, 
for  upon  them  depended  mainly  the  spring  excur 
sions  North  Poleward.  Such  being  the  situation, 
Sontag  took  at  this  time  the  surviving  dogs,  and, 
on  a  sledge  with  Hans  as  a  driver,  started  south 
in  pursuit  of  Esquimo.  If  they  could  be  brought 
with  their  dogs  into  the  vicinity  of  the  ship  and 
fed,  there  would  be  a  fair  chance  of  having  dog- 
sledges  when  they  were  wanted.  The  nearest 
known  Esquimo  family  was  at  Northumberland 
Island,  a  hundred  miles  off,  and  others  were  at 
the  south  side  of  Whale  Sound,  fifty  miles  farther 
— perhaps  all  had  gone  to  the  most  distant  point. 
They  departed  in  fine  spirits,  and  well  equipped. 
Hans  cracked  his  whip,  and  the  dogs,  well  fed 
and  eager  for  a  run,  caused  the  sledge  to  glide 
over  the  ice  with  the  velocity  of  a  locomotive. 
Their  companions  sent  after  them  a  "hip!  hip, 
hurrah!"  and  a  "tiger."  The  moon  shed  her. 
e serene  light  on  their  path,  and  all  seemed  to  prom 
ise  a  speedy  and  successful  return. 

The  second  night  after  their  departure  the 
solicitous  commander  had  a  strange,  disquieting 
dream.  He  says  in  the  journal  of  the  following 
morning :  "  I  stood  with  Sontag  far  out  upon  the 
frozen  sea,  when  suddenly  a  crash  was  heard 
through  the  darkness,  and  in  an  instant  a  crack 
opened  in  the  ice  between  us.  It  came  so  sud 
denly  and  widened  so  rapidly  that  he  could  not 
spring  over  it  to  where  I  stood,  and  he  sailed  away 
on  the  dark  waters  of  a  troubled  sea.  I  last  saw 


266  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

him  standing  firmly  upon  the  crystal  raft,  his  erect 
form  cutting  sharply  against  a  streak  of  light 
which  lay  upon  the  distant  horizon." 

Christmas  came  and  was  duly  regarded.  Stores 
of  nice  things,  the  gifts  of  friends  far  away,  were 
brought  out  from  secret  corners  where  they  had 
been  hid.  The  tables  were  loaded  with  that 
which  satisfied  the  appetite  and  gratified  the  eye, 
while  the  rooms  of  officers  and  men  blazed  with 
cheerful  lights.  Outside  a  feeble  aurora  seemed 
to  be  trying  to  exhibit  an  inspiring  illumination, 
which  contrasted  strongly*  with  its  cloudy  back 
ground. 

January,  1861,  came,  and  half  its  days  passed, 
yet  no  tidings  came  from  Sontag.  The  twilight 
had  returned,  and  already  the  coming  sun  was 
heralded  along  the  golden  horizon.  The  com 
mander  was  becoming  uneasy  concerning  the 
missing  ones,  and  began  to  devise  ways  of  know 
ing  what  had  become  of  them.  Mr.  Dodge  was 
sent  to  follow  their  tracks,  which  he  did  as  far  as 
Cape  Alexander,  where  he  lost  them  and  returned. 
A  party  was  instantly  put  in  readiness  for  farther 
search,  and  was  about  to  start  on  the  morning  of 
January  twenty-seventh,  when  a  violent  storm 
arose,  detaining  it  two  days.  As  it  was  on  the 
instant  of  starting  again,  two  Esquimo  suddenly 
appeared  at  the  vessel's  side.  One  of  them  was 
Ootiniah,  who  appears  so  creditably  in  the  narrative 
of  Dr.  Hayes's  boat  voyage.  They  were  bearers 
of  sad  news.  Professor  Sontag  was  dead.  Hans 
was  on  his  way  to  the  vessel  with  his  wife,  father 


A  Strange  Dream  and  its  Fulfillment.    267 

and  mother,  and  their  son,  a  lad  who  was  left  be 
hind  with  mother  when  Hans  was  first  taken  on 
board  of  the  schooner.  Some  of  the  dogs  had 
died,  and  the  family  were  necessarily  moving 
slowly. 

Two  days  later  Hans  came  in  with  the  boy 
only,  having  left  the  dogs  and  the  old  people  near 
Cape  Alexander  and  come  on  for  help.  He  was 
very  cold  and  much  exhausted,  and  both  were 
sent  below  for  food,  warmth,  and  rest,  before  be 
ing  questioned  concerning  the  disastrous  journey. 
The  large  sledge,  drawn  by  fresh  men,  was  sent  for 
those  left  behind.  The  old  people  were  found 
coiled  up  in  an  excavation  made  in  a  snow  bank, 
and  the  dogs  huddled  together  near  them,  neither 
dogs  nor  Esquimo  being  able  to  stir,  and  so  all 
were  bundled  in  a  heap  on  the  sledge  and  drawn 
to  the  schooner.  The  hardy  savages  soon  re 
vived  under  the  influence  of  good  quarters  and 
good  eating,  but  the  dogs,  five  in  number,  the 
remnant  of  the  strong  force  of  thirty- six,  lay  on 
the  deck  unable  to  stir,  and  not  disposed  to  eat. 

Hans's  story  was  this  : — 

They  made  a  good  run  the  first  day,  passing 
Cape  Alexander,  and  camped  in  a  snow  hut  on 
Sunderland  Island.  The  next  day  they  reached 
an  Esquimo  settlement,  but  found  its  huts  for 
saken.  Resting  and  eating  here,  they  started  for 
Northumberland  Island,  and  having  traveled  about 
five  miles,  Sontag,  becoming  chilled,  sprang  from 
the  sledge  and  ran  ahead  of  the  dogs  for  warmth 
by  exercise.  Hans  having  occasion  to  halt  the 


268  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

team  to  disentangle  a  trace  fell  some  distance  be 
hind.  He  was  urging  forward  his  team  to  over 
take  his  master  when  he  saw  him  sinking.  He 
had  come  upon  thin  ice  covering  a  recently  open 
crack,  and  had  broken  through.  Hans  hastened 
up  and  helped  him  from  the  water.  A  light  wind 
was  blowing,  which  disposed  Sontag  not  to  attempt 
to  change  his  wet  clothes — the  fatal  error.  They 
hastened  back  to  the  hut  in  which  they  had  spent 
the  night.  At  first  the  professor  ran,  but  after  a 
while  jumped  on  the  sledge,  and  when  he  reached 
the  hut  he  was  stiff  and  speechless.  Hans  lifted 
him  into  the  hut,  drew  off  his  wet  clothes,  and 
placed  him  into  his  sleeping  bag.  Having  tightly 
closed  the  hut,  he  set  the  lamp  ablaze,  and  ad 
ministered  to  him  a  portion  of  brandy  from  a 
flask  found  on  the  sledge.  But  the  cold  had  done 
its  fatal  work  ;  he  remained  speechless  and  uncon 
scious  for  nearly  twenty-four  hours,  and  died. 

Hans  closed  up  the  hut  to  prevent  beasts  of 
prey  from  disturbing  the  body,  continued  south, 
and  on  the  second  night  came  upon  a  village  where 
he  was  rejoiced  to  find  several  native  families,  who 
were  living  in  the  midst  of  abundance.  Here 
Hans  rested  until  two  Esquimo  boys,  whom  he 
hired  with  the  Sontag  presents,  could  go  to  Cape 
York  after  his  wife's  parents  and  their  son.  They 
over-drove  or  starved  four  of  the  dogs,  which  were 
left  by  the  way. 

The  natives  whom  he  found  were  ready  on  the 
moment  of  his  arrival  to  return  to  the  vessel  with 
him,  and  Ootiniah  and  his  companion  were  the 


A  Strange  Dream  and  its  Fulfillment.  269 

first  to  show  their  good-will  by  starting  with  Hans 
on  his  return. 

A  few  weeks  later  the  body  of  Sontag  was  brought 
to  the  vessel,  a  neat  coffin  was  made  for  it,  and 
the  whole  ship's  company  followed  it,  mourning, 
to  its  last  resting-place.  The  burial  service  was 
read,  and  it  was  carefully  secured  from  molesta 
tion.  At  a  later  period  a  mound  was  raised  over  it, 
and  a  chiseled  stone  slab,  with  his  name  and  age, 
marked  the  head. 

August  Sontag  was  only  twenty-eight  years  of 
age  when  thus  suddenly  cut  off.  His  loss  to  the 
expedition  was  very  great. 

Hans's  parents  and  brother  were  added  to  his 
own  family  on  deck,  and  proved  to  be  much  more 
efficient  helpers  in  domestic  affairs  than  Mrs. 
Hans.  The  boy  was  washed  and  scrubbed  and 
combed  by  the  sailors,  with  whom  he  became  a 
great  favorite,  filling  much  the  place  on  board  as  a 
pet  monkey,  and  proved  to  be  full  as  annoying  to 
the  old  cook,  who,  in  his  extreme  vexation  at  his 
mischievous  tricks,  threatened  to  "  kill  him — a 
le-e-t-le"  The  old  folks  getting  tired  of  the  close 
quarters  on  board,  built  after  a  while  a  snow  hut 
on  the  floe,  and  set  up  housekeeping  for  them 
selves. 


270  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

THE  CROWNING  SLEDGE  JOURNEY. 

t 

u  r  n*HE  glorious  sun "  reappeared  February 
JL  eighteenth,  tarrying  only  a  moment,  but 
giving  a  sure  prophecy  of  a  coming  to  stay.  Scarce 
ly  less  welcome  was  the  appearance  soon  after  of 
Kalutunah,  Tattarat,  and  Myouk,  all  old  acquaint 
ance  whom  the  reader  will  not  fail  to  recognize. 
Kalutunah  was  Angekok  and  Nalegak — priest  and 
chief.  His  gruff  old  rival,  who  advised  the  starva 
tion  policy  toward  the  escaping  party  in  the  miser 
able  old  hut,  had  been  harpooned  in  the  back  and 
buried  alive  under  a  heap  of  stones.  These  com 
ers  brought  the  much-desired  dogs,  and  they  were 
followed  by  other  old  friends  from  Northumber 
land  Island  with  additional  dog-teams.  These 
natives  were  treated  with  consideration — they  were 
made  content  with  abundant  food  and  flattered 
with  presents,  all  of  which  told  favorably  upon  the 
success  of  the  enterprise  of  the  generous  donors. 

In  the  middle  of  March  the  northward  excur 
sions  commenced.  The  first  consisted  of  a  party 
of  three,  Dr.  Hayes  and  Kalutunah  driving  a  team 
of  six  dogs,  and  Jensen  with  a  sledge  of  nine.  It 
was  to  be  a  trial  trip,  and  the  experiment  began 
rather  roughly.  A  few  miles  only  had  been  made 
when  Jensen,  whose  team  was  ahead,  broke  through 


The  Crowning  Sledge  Journey.         271 

the  ice,  and  dogs  and  man  went  floundering  to 
gether  into  a  cold  bath.  The  other  team,  fortu 
nately,  was  just  at  hand,  so  they  were  drawn  out, 
and  all  returned  to  the  vessel  for  a  fresh  and  warm 
start.  The  next  trial  they  were  gone  four  days, 
and  traversed  the  Greenland  shore  to  Cape  Ag- 
assiz  and  to  the  commencement  of  the  Great 
Glacier.  The  cold  at  one  time  was  sixty-eight  and 
a  half  degrees  below  zero.  Yet  the  sun's  rays 
through  even  such  an  atmosphere  blistered  the 
skin  !  The  grains  of  snow  became  like  gravel,  and 
the  sledge  runners  grated  over  it  as  if  running  on  the 
summer  sand  of  our  own  sea-shore.  Kalutunah  had 
an  ingenious  remedy  for  this.  He  dissolved  snow 
in  his  mouth,  and  pouring  the  water  into  his  hand 
coated  the  runners  with  it.  It  instantly  freezing, 
made  something  like  a  glass  plating  for  them. 

Kalutunah  was  greatly  puzzled  in  attempting  to 
understand  why  this  journey  was  made.  But  his 
perplexity  took  the  form  of  disgust  when  the  fresh 
tracks  were  seen  of  a  bear  and  cub,  and  the  white 
chief  forbade  the  chase.  He  argued  in  the  inter 
est  of  Dr.  Hayes,  who  might  thereby  have  a  new 
fur  coat,  pointed  to  the  hungry  dogs,  and  finally 
pleaded  for  his  own  family,  who  were  longing  for 
bear  meat.  But  all  in  vain.  The  circumstances  had 
changed  since,  in  the  same  spot  nearly,  he  had 
urged  the  dogs  after  a  bear  in  spite  of  Dr.  Kane, 
and  thus  defeated  the  purpose  of  his  long  trip. 

On  their  return  they  turned  into  Van  Rensselaer 
Harbor,  the  place  made  so  famous  by  Dr.  Kane's 
expedition.  Every  thing  there  was  changed.  In- 


2/2  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

stead  of  smooth  ice,  over  which  Dr.  Kane's  party 
came  and  went  so  often,  there  were  hummocks 
piled  up  every-where  in  the  wildest  confusion. 
Where  the  "  Advance  "  was  left  when  her  men  took 
a  last  look  at  her  was  an  ice-pile  towering  as  high 
as  were  her  mast-heads.  Old  localities  were  un- 
discernible  from  the  snow  and  icy  aggressions. 
A  small  piece  of  a  deck-plank  picked  up  near 
Butler  Island  was  all  that  could  be  found  of  the 
"  Advance."  The  Esquimo  told  nearly  as  many 
diverse  stories  of  her  history  after  the  white  men 
left  her  as  there  were  persons  to  testify,  and  some 
individuals,  apparently  to  increase  the  chance  of 
saying  some  item  of  truth,  told  many  different 
stories.  According  to  these  witnesses  she  drifted 
out  to  sea  and  sunk,  (the  most  probable  statement,) 
she  was  knocked  to  pieces  so  far  as  possible  and 
carried  off  by  the  Esquimo,  and  she  was  accident 
ally  set  on  fire  and  burned.  The  graves  of  Baker 
and  Pierre  remained  undisturbed,  but  the  beacon 
built  over  them  was  broken  down  and  scattered. 

The  result  of  this  experimental  trip  was  the  de 
cision  of  the  commander  not  to  attempt  to  reach 
the  Open  Polar  Sea  by  the  Greenland  shore,  but 
to  cross  Smith  Sound  at  Cairn  Point,  a  few  miles 
north  of  the  schooner.  To  this  point  provisions 
were  immediately  carried  on  the  sledges  for  the 
summer  journey  beyond. 

On  the  third  of  April  the  grand  effort  to  reach 
the  North  Pole  commenced.  The  party  consisted 
of  twelve  persons,  who  were  early  at  their  assigned 
positions  alongside  of  the  schooner.  Jensen  was 


The  Crowning'  Sledge  Journey.        273 

at  the  head  of  the  line  of  march,  on  the  sledge 
"  Hope,"  to  which  were  harnessed  eight  dogs; 
Knorr  came  next,  "  the  whip  "  of  the  "  Persever 
ance,"  with  six  dogs.  Then  came  a  metallic  life 
boat  with  which  the  Polar  Sea  was  to  be  navigated, 
mounted  on  a  sledge  and  drawn  by  men  each  with 
shoulder  strap  and  trace.  Flags  fluttered  from 
boat  and  sledges,  all  was  enthusiasm,  and  at  the 
word  "march  "  the  dogs  dashed  away,  the  men 
bent  bravely  to  their  earnest  work,  the  "swivel" 
on  deck  thundered  its  good-bye,  and  the  party  were 
soon  far  away. 

The  very  first  day's  exposure  nearly  proved 
fatal  to  several  of  the  party.  One  settled  himself 
down  in  the  snow  muttering,  "I'm  freezing,"  and 
would  have  proved  in  a  half  hour  his  declaration 
had  not  two  more  hardy  men  taken  him  in  charge. 
The  spirits  of  the  men  ran  low,  and  they  were 
two  hours  in  building  a  snow-hut  in  which  to  hide 
from  the  pitiless  wind.  A  rest  at  Cairn  Point  and 
increased  experience  gave  them  more  energy,  and 
the  next  snow-hut  was  made  in  less  than  one  hour. 
They  proved  the  snow-shovel  a  fine  heat  generator. 
On  the  fifth  night  out  they  were  overtaken  by  a 
storm,  and  were  detained  two  days  in  their  hut. 
This  was  a  pit  in  the  snow  eighteen  feet  long,  eight 
wide,  and  four  deep.  Across  its  top  were  placed 
the  boat-oars ;  across  these  the  sledge  was  laid ; 
over  the  sledge  was  thrown  the  boat's  sails  ;  and 
over  the  sails  snow  was  shoveled.  They  crawled 
into  this  hut  through  a  hole  which  they  filled  up 
after  them  with  a  block  of  snow.  Over  the  floor 


274  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

' — a  leveled  snow  floor — they  spread  an  India-rub 
ber  cloth  ;  on  this  was  laid  a  carpet  of  buffalo- 
skins,  and  over  this  another  of  equal  size.  Be 
tween  these  they  crept  to  sleep,  the  outside  man 
of  the  row  having  no  little  difficulty  in  preventing 
his  companions  from  "pulling  the  clothes  off." 
The  wind  without  blew  its  mightiest  blow,  and 
piled  the  snow  up  over  the  poor  dogs,  which  were 
huddled  together  for  mutual  warmth,  and  were 
kept  restless  in  poking  their  noses  above  the  drift. 
The  cooks  were  obliged  to  call  to  their  help  the 
commander  in  order  to  keep  the  lamp  from  being 
puffed  out,  and  two  hours  were  consumed  in  get 
ting  a  steaming  pot  of  coffee.  But  after  a  while 
the  bread  and  coffee,  and  dried  meat  and  potato 
hash,  were  abundantly  and  regularly  served,  and 
the  men  contrived  to  pass  in  talk  and  song  and 
sleep  the  hours  of  the  really  dreary  imprisonment. 
Before  the  storm  had  fully  subsided,  the  party 
went  on  the  back  track  to  bring  up  to  this  point  a 
part  of  the  provisions  they  had  been  obliged  to 
deposit.  This  done,  they  put  their  faces  to  the 
opposite,  or  American  side  of  the  sound.  But  the 
difficulties  were  truly  fearful.  The  ice,  like  great 
bowlders,  was  scattered  over  the  entire  surface, 
now  piled  in  ridges  ten,  twenty,  and  even  a  hun 
dred  feet  high,  and  then  scattered  over  a  level 
area  with  only  a  narrow  and  ever-twisting  way 
between  them.  Over  these  ridges  the  sledges 
had  to  be  lifted,  the  load  often  taken  off  and  car 
ried  up  in  small  parcels,  and  the  sledges  and  boat 
drawn  up  and  let  down  again.  Frequently  in  the 


The  Crowning  Sledge  Journey.         2/5 

midst  of  this  toil  a  man  would  fall  into  a  chasm 
up  to  his  waist ;  another  would  go  out  of  sight  in 
one.  These  terrible  traps  were  so  covered  with  a 
crust  of  snow  that  they  could  not  be  discerned. 
The  boat  was,  of  course,  capsized  often,  and  much 
battered.  When  a  ridge  had  been  scaled,  and  the 
party  had  picked  their  way  for  a  time  through  the 
winding  path  among  the  ice-bowlders,  they  would 
come  to  a  sudden  impassable  barrier,  and  be 
obliged  to  retrace  their  steps.  A  whole  day  of 
gigantic  exertion,  and  of  many  miles  of  zigzag 
travel,  would  sometimes  advance  them  only  a  rifle 
shot  in  a  straight  line. 

Of  course  it  was  simply  impossible  to  carry  the 
boat,  and  it  was  abandoned.  They  were  yet  only 
about  thirty  miles  from  Cairn  Point,  but  had  trav 
eled  perhaps  five  times  that  distance. 

For  several  days  after  this  the  heroic  explorers 
struggled  on.  A  fresh  snow  with  a  half-frozen 
crust  was  added  to  their  other  obstacles.  Hum 
mocks  and  ridges  and  pitfalls  grew  worse  and 
worse.  The  sledges  broke,  the  limbs  of  the  men 
were  bruised  and  sprained,  their  strength  exhausted, 
and  at  last  their  spirits  failed.  They  had  toiled 
twenty-five  days,  advanced  half  way  across  the 
sound,  and  brought  along  about  eight  hundred 
pounds  of  food. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  April  the  main  party 
were  sent  homeward.  Dr.  Hayes,  Knorr,  M 'Don 
ald,  and  Jensen,  pushed  on  toward  the  American 
shore.  Their  way  was,  as  one  of  the  party  re 
marked,  like  a  trip  through  New  York  over  the 


276  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

tops  of  the  houses.  They  progressed  a  mile  and  a 
half,  and  traveled  at  least  twelve,  carrying  their  pro 
visions  over  the  ground  by  repeating  the  journey 
many  times.  Such  was  the  daily  experience,  va 
ried  by  many  exciting  incidents.  Jensen  sprained 
a  leg  which  had  been  once  broken  ;  the  dogs  were 
savage  as  the  wildest  wolves  with  hunger,  though 
having  a  fair  amount  of  food  ;  once  Knorr  in  feed 
ing  them  stumbled  and  fell  into  the  midst  of  the 
pack,  and  would  have  doubtless  been  devoured  as 
a  generous  morsel  of  food  tossed  to  them,  had  not 
M 'Donald  pounced  upon  them  at  the  moment  with 
lusty  blows  from  a  whip-stock.  All  four  of  the 
explorers  held  out  bravely  in  this  fearful  strain  on 
mind  and  body,  even  young  Knorr  never  shrink 
ing  from  the  hardest  work,  nor  the  longest  con 
tinued  exertions. 

On  the  eleventh  of  May  the  party  encamped 
under  the  shadow  of  Cape  Hawkes,  on  Grinnell 
Land,  off  the  American  coast.  The  distance  from 
Cairn  Point,  in  a  straight  line  northwest,  was  eighty 
miles.  They  had  been  traveling  thirty-one  days, 
and  made  a  twisting  and  clambering  route  of  five 
hundred  miles. 

The  travel  up  the  coast  had  the  usual  variety 
of  dangers,  hair-breadth  escapes,  and  exhausting 
toil.  A  little  flag-staff,  planted  by  Dr.  Hayes  dur 
ing  the  Kane  expedition,  was  found  bravely  look 
ing  out  upon  the  drear  field  it  was  set  to  designate, 
but  the  flag  it  bore  had  been  blown  away.  Re 
mains  of  Esquimo  settlements  long  deserted  were 
found.  A  raven  coaked  a  welcome  to  the  strangers, 


The  Crowning  Sledge  Journey.         277 

or  it  may  be  a  warning,  and  followed  them  sev 
eral  days. 

On  the  fourth  day  up  the  coast  Jensen,  the 
hardiest  of  the  vessel's  company,  utterly  failed. 
He  had  strained  his  back  as  well  as  leg,  and 
groaned  with  pain.  What  could  be  done  ?  The 
party  could  not  proceed  with  a  sick  man,  nor 
would  they  for  a  moment  think  of  leaving  him 
alone.  So  the  following  course  was  adopted  by 
the  commander:  M'Donald  was  left  in  the  snow- 
hut  with  Jensen,  with  five  days'  food  and  five  dogs, 
with  orders  to  remain  five  days,  and  then,  if  Hayes 
and  Knorr,  who  were  to  continue  on,  had  not  re 
turned,  to  make  his  best  way  with  Jensen  back 
to  the  vessel. 

The  journey  of  Dr.  Hayes  and  Knorr  was  con 
tinued  two  full  days.  On  the  morning  of  the  third 
day  they  had  proceeded  but  a  few  miles  when  they 
came  to  a  stand.  They  had  on  their  left  the  ab 
rupt,  rocky,  ice-covered  clifts  of  the  shore ;  on 
their  right  were  high  ridges  of  ice,  through  which 
the  waters  of  an  open  sea  broke  here  and  there 
into  bays  and  inlets  which  washed  the  shore. 
Farther  progress  north  by  land  or  ice  was  impos 
sible.  They  climbed  a  cliff  which  towered  eight 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  whose  dark  waters 
were  lost  in  the  distance  toward  the  north-east. 
North,  standing  against  the  sky,  was  a  noble  head 
land,  the  most  northern  known  land,  and  only 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  North 
Pole.  The  spot  on  which  our  explorers  stood  was 
about  one  degree  farther  north  than  that  occupied 
18 


278  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES., 

by  Morton,  of  Kane's  Expedition,  yet  on  the  shore 
of  the  same  open  water.  Now,  if  they  only  had 
the  boat  they  were  obliged  to  leave  among  the 
hummocks  in  Smith  Sound,  with  the  provisions 
and  men  they  had  hoped  to  bring  to  this  point,  how 
soon  would  they  solve  the  mystery  locked  up  from 
the  beginning,  and  in  the  keeping  of  his  Frosty 
Majesty  of  the  Pole  itself!  But,  alas!  there  were 
neither  boat  nor  provisions,  and  the  movement  of 
the  treacherous  floes  warned  the  daring  strangers 
that  the  bridge  of  ice  over  which  they  had  come 
to  this  side  might  soon  be  torn  away,  and  make  a 
return  impossible.  They  built  a  monument  of 
stones,  raised  on  it  a  flag  of  triumph,  deposited 
beneath  it  a  record  of  their  visit  placed  in  a  bottle, 
and  turned  their  faces  homeward. 


Last  Incidents  of  the  Expedition.        279 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

LAST    INCIDENTS    OF    THE    EXPEDITION. 

DR.  HAYES  and  Knorr  were  buffeted  by  a 
fierce  storm  soon  after  starting.  They  were 
over  fifty  miles  from  M 'Donald  and  Jensen,  only 
ten  of  which  were  traversed  before  they  were 
obliged  to  encamp.  But. the  storm  howled,  and 
tossed  the  snow-clouds  about  them,  making  it  im 
possible  to  build  a  snow  hut.  After  a  brief  halt, 
and  feeding  the  dogs  with  the  last  morsel  of  food 
which  remained,  they  pushed  on.  The  snow  was 
deep,  often  nearly  burying  the  dogs  as  they  plunged 
along  ;  the  hummocks  and  rocks  over  which  they 
climbed  lay  across  their  path,  and  the  wind  blew 
with  unabated  fury ;  yet  they  halted  not  until  the 
remaining  forty  or  more  miles  were  accomplished, 
and  they  tumbled  into  the  hut  of  their  compan 
ions.  The  dogs  rolled  themselves  together  on  the 
snow  the  moment  they  were  left,  utterly  ex 
hausted.  The  weary  men  slept  a  long,  sound 
sleep.  When  they  awoke  a  steaming  pot  of  coffee 
and  an  abundant  breakfast  awaited  them.  They 
had  fasted  thirty-four  hours,  and  traveled  in  the 
last  twenty-two  over  forty  miles,  which  the  hum- 
*  mocks  and  deep  snow  made  equal  to  double  that 
distance  of  smooth  sledging.  The  last  few  miles 
were  made  in  a  state  of  partial  bewilderment,  so 


280  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

their  final  safety  was  another  of  their  many  marked 
deliverances.  The  remaining  run  to  the  vessel 
had  its  daily  perils  and  escapes.  As  they  were 
approaching  the  American  shore  they  stepped 
across  a  crack  on  the  ice.  They  had  traveled  but  a 
short  distance  when  they  perceived  that  there  was 
an  impassable  channel  between  them  and  the  land 
ice.  They  ran  back  to  recross  the  crack,  and 
that  had  become  twenty  yards  wide.  They  were, 
in  fact,  on  an  ice-raft,  and  were  sweeping  help 
lessly  out  to  sea!  They  had  hardly  collected 
their  thoughts  after  this  terrifying  surprise  before 
one  of  the  shore  corners  of  their  raft  struck  a 
small  grounded  iceberg,  and  on  this,  as  on  a  pivot, 
the  outer  edge  swung  toward  the  shore,  struck  its 
margin,  allowed  them  to  scamper  off,  and  then 
immediately  swung  again  into  the  open  water,  and 
shot  out  to  sea. 

The  poor  dogs,  being  insufficiently  fed,  and 
necessarily  overworked,  now  began  to  fail.  Jen 
sen's  lameness  compelling  him  to  ride,  increased 
their  burden.  One  died  just  before  the  party  left 
the  hummocks,  and  two  soon  after.  A  fourth  hav 
ing  failed,  the  commander,  thinking  to  shorten  his 
misery,  shot  him.  The  ball  only  wounding  him, 
he  set  up  a  terrible  cry,  at  which  his  companions 
flew  at  him,  tore  him  in  pieces,  and,  almost  before 
his  last  howl  had  died  away  in  the  dreary  waste, 
they  had  eaten  the  flesh  from  his  bones. 

They  arrived  at  the  schooner  safely  after  two 
months'  absence,  during  which  they  had  traveled 
thirteen  hundred  miles. 


.  Last  Incidents  of  the  Expedition.        281 

The  commander  was  cheered  to  learn  that  the 
party  who  returned  under  M'Cormick  had  reached 
Port  Foulke  in  safety.  The  whole  ship's  com 
pany  were  in  good  health.  The  vessel  was  imme 
diately  thoroughly  examined  and  put  in  sailing 
order.  As  the  summer  came  on,  the  birds,  the 
green  mosses,  hardy  little  flowers,  several  species 
of  moths  and  spiders,  and  even  a  yellow  winged 
butterfly,  appeared  to  greet  its  coming.  The  open 
water  was  daily  coining  nearer  the  schooner. 
While  awaiting  the  loosening  of  its  icy  fetters,  a 
boat's  crew  had  an  exciting  walrus  hunt.  Dr. 
Hayes  had  been  on  a  hill-top  which  overlooked 
the  bay,  when  the  hoarse  bellowing  of  distant  wal 
rus  saluted  his  ears.  Drifting  ice-rafts  were  com 
ing  down  the  sound,  on  which  great  numbers  of 
these  monsters  could  be  seen.  He  hurried  to  the 
vessel,  and  called  for  volunteers.  Soon  a  whale- 
boat  was  manned,  and  the  men,  armed  with  three 
rifles  and  a  harpoon  and  line,  dragged  it  to  the 
open  water,  launched  it,  and  rowed  into  the  midst 
of  the  drift-ice.  The  first  cake  of  ice  which 
they  approached  contained  a  freight  of  twenty- 
four  walruses,  pretty  well  covering  it.  The  lubber 
ly,  ugly  looking  sea-hogs  appeared  as  content  as 
their  very  distant  relatives  of  our  sties,  while  they 
huddled  together  and  twisted  for  the  sunniest  spot, 
and  bellowed  in  one  another's  ears.  Our  hunters 
were  all  eager  for  the  fight  as  they  approached 
with  muffled  oars,  but  on  coming  near  to  the  floe, 
it  was  apparent  that  the  hunt  was  not  to  be  all 
fun,  nor  the  fighting  on  one  side  only.  The  hides 


282  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

of  the  monsters  looked  like  an  iron  plating,  and 
were,  in  fact,  an  inch  thick,  smooth,  hairless,  and 
tough,  suggesting  a  good  defensive  ability ;  while 
their  great  tusks,  projecting  from  a  jaw  of  elephan 
tine  strength,  hinted  unpleasantly  to  the  invaders 
that  their  antagonists  were  prepared  for  assault  as 
well  as  defense.  Very  likely  if  one  could  have 
seen  at  that  moment  the  countenances  of  our 
boat's  crew,  they  would  have  shown  more  of  a 
wish  to  be  in  the  vessel's  cabin  than  they  would 
have  cared  to  confess  with  their  lips.  But  there 
was  no  flinching.  There  were  two  male  walruses 
in  the  herd — huge,  fierce-looking  fellows,  which 
roused  up  a  moment  to  scan  the  strangers,  and 
then,  giving  each  other  a  punch  in  the  face  with 
their  tusks,  stretched  out  again  upon  the  ice  to 
sleep. 

In  this  walrus  party  there  were,  besides  the  two 
fathers,  mothers  with  children  of  various  ages, 
from  the  "  little  ones  "  of  four  hundred  pounds, 
to  the  "young  folks."  Of  course  they  were  a  lov 
ing,  happy  group.  The  boat  came  within  a  few 
times  its  length  of  the  ice-raft.  Miller,  an  old 
whaleman,  was  in  the  bow  of  the  boat  with  a  har 
poon.  Hayes,  Knorr,  and  Jensen  stood  in  the 
stern  with  their  rifles  leveled  each  at  his  selected 
victim,  while  the  oarsmen  bent  forward  to  their  oars. 
At  the  word  the  rifles  cracked,  and  the  oarsmen  at 
the  same  moment  shot  the  boat  into  the  midst  of 
the  startled  walrus.  Jensen  hit  one  of  the  males 
in  the  neck,  not  probably  doing  him  much  harm  ; 
Hayes's  ball  struck  the  other  bull  in  the  head,  at 


Last  Incidents  of  the  Expedition.        283 

which  he  roared  lustily.  Knorr  killed  a  baby  wal 
rus  dead,  but  he  disappeared  from  the  raft  with 
the  rest,  probably  pushed  off  by  his  mamma. 
When  the  old  fellow  which  was  wounded  by  the 
commander  rolled  into  the  water,  Miller  planted 
his  harpoon  in  him  with  unerring  skill,  and  the 
line  attached  spun  out  over  the  gunwale  with 
fearful  velocity.  There  were  a  few  moments  of 
suspense,  and  then  up  came  the  herd,  a  few  yards 
from  the  boat,  the  wounded  bull  with  the  har 
poon  among  them.  They  uttered  one  wild,  united 
shriek,  and  answering  shrieks  from  thousands  of 
startled  walruses,  on  the  walrus  laden  ice-rafts  for 
miles  around,  filled  the  air.  It  was  an  agonized 
cry  for  help,  and  the  answering  cry  was,  "  we 
come  !  "  There  was  a  simultaneous  splash  from 
the  ice-rafts,  and  the  hosts,  as  if  by  the  bugle  call, 
came  rushing  on,  heads  erect,  and  uttering  the 
defiant  "  huk,  huk,  huk  !  "  They  came  directly  at 
the  boat,  surrounding  it,  and  blackening  the  waters 
with  their  numbers.  The  wounded  bull,  attached 
still  to  Miller's  line,  led  the  attack.  The  hunters 
had  aroused  foemen  worthy  of  their  steel,  and 
they  must  now  fight  or  die.  It  seemed  to  be  the 
purpose  of  the  walruses  to  get  their  tusks  over  the 
side  of  the  boat,  and  so  easily  tear  it  to  pieces  or 
sink  it,  and  then,  having  its  audacious  crew  in  the 
water,  make  short  work  of  them.  As  they  came  on, 
Miller,  in  the  bow,  pricked  them  in  the  face  with 
his  lance,  the  rowers  pushed  them  back  with  their 
oars,  while  Hayes,  Jensen,  and  Knorr  sent,  as  fast 
as  they  could  load  and  fire,  rifle-balls  crashing 


284  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

through  their  heads.  At  one  time  a  huge  leader 
had  come  within  a  few  feet  of  the  boat.  Hayes 
and  Jensen  had  just  fired,  and  were  loading,  but 
Knorr  was  just  in  time  to  salute  him  with  a  ball. 
The  men  were  becoming  weary,  while  the  walrus 
assaulting  column  was  constantly  supplied  with 
fresh  troops.  The  situation  was  now  critical, 
when,  as  if  to  crush  his  enemy  and  end  the  con 
flict  in  victory  on  his  side,  a  walrus  Goliath,  with 
tusks  three  feet  long,  led  on  a  solid  column  of  un 
dismayed  warriors.  Two  guns  had  just  been  fired, 
as  before.  His  terrible  weapons  were  fearfully 
near  the  gunwale,  when  Knorr's  gun  came  to  the 
rescue ;  its  muzzle  was  so  near  his  open  mouth 
that  the  ball  killed  him  instantly,  and  he  sunk  like 
lead.  This  sent  consternation  through  the  walrus 
ranks.  They  all  dov.e  at  once,  and  when  they 
came  up  they  were  a  considerable  distance  off, 
their  tails  to  their  foes,  and  retreating  with  a  wild 
shriek.  The  battle  was  ended,  and  the  saucy  ex 
plorers  were  victors.  The  sea  in  places  was  red 
with  blood.  The  harpooned  bull  and  one  other 
were  carried  as  trophies  to  the  vessel. 

On  the  twelfth  of  July  the  schooner  floated, 
after  an  ice  imprisonment  of  ten  months.  The 
Esquimo  seeing  that  the  white  friends  were  about 
to  leave  them,  gathered  on  the  shore  in  sorrowful 
interest.  They  had  been  the  receivers  of  gifts 
great  in  their  estimation,  and  they  had  rendered 
the  strangers  no  small  favors,  especially  in  the  use 
of  their  dogs,  without  which  no  excursions  of  im 
portance  could  have  been  made.  Kalutunah  actu- 


Last  Incidents  of  the  Expedition.        285 

ally  wept  on  parting  with  Dr.  Hayes.  He  had 
enjoyed  under  his  patronage  the  Esquimo  para 
dise — "plenty  to  eat,  plenty  sleep,  no  work,  no 
hunt."  He  spoke  feelingly  of  the  fading  away  of 
his  people.  "  Come  back,"  he  said,  "  and  save  us ; 
come  soon  or  we  shall  be  all  gone." 

He  had  reason  to  express  these  fears  concerning 
his  people.  Since  Dr.  Kane  left  thirty-four  had 
died,  and  there  had  been  in  the  same  time  only 
nineteen  births.  There  seemed  to  be  in  all  the 
settlements,  from  Cape  York  to  Etah>  only  a 
hundred  ! 

The  explorers  bid  adieu  to  Port  Foulke  on  the 
fourteenth,  and  sailed  away  to  the  west  side  of  Smith 
Sound,  and  reached  a  point  about  ten  miles  south 
of  Cape  Isabella.  The  hope  was  entertained  by 
the  commander  that  he  might  work  his  way  with 
the  vessel  north  through  the  now  loosening  ice 
over  which  he  had  just  been  traveling  with  sledges, 
get  through  even  Kennedy  Channel,  to  the  open 
sea  on  the  shore  of  which  he  had  so  lately  stood, 
and  then  sail  away  to  the  North  Pole.  What  a 
stimulating  thought !  But  he  found  the  schooner 
ice-battered,  and,  weakened  by  the  "  nips  "  she  had 
experienced,  was  unequal  to  the  required  fight 
with  the  defiant  pack  which  every-where  filled 
the  sound.  So  the  explorers  turned  homeward. 
They  arrived  at  Upernavik  on  the  twelfth  of  Au 
gust  after  many  exciting  incidents  but  no  accident. 
Here  they  learned  the  startling  news  of  the  com 
mencement  of  the  great  Rebellion.  During  their 
absence  President  Lincoln  had  been  inaugurated, 


286  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

the  black  cloud  of  war  had  settled  heavily  over  the 
whole  country,  and  the  bloody  battle  of  Bull  Run 
had  been  fought.  They  were  now  to  return  home 
and  transfer  their  interest  in  fighting  ice-packs, 
bergs,  and  Polar  bears,  to  the  conflicts  of  civil 
war. 


-• 


Something  New.  287 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

SOMETHING  NEW. 

WHILE  the  civilized  world  were  awaiting 
with  deep  interest  the  results  of  the  search 
for  Sir  John  Franklin,  and  while  learned  geogra 
phers  and  practical  navigators  to  the  regions  of 
cold  were  devising  new  methods  of  search  for  him, 
a  young  engraver  was  working  out  a  problem  in 
reference  to  this  great  enterprise  peculiarly  his 
own.  Without  special  educational  advantages, 
without  the  resources  of  wealth  or  influential 
friends,  but  with  the  inspiration  of  one  feeling,  "  a 
divine  call  "  to  the  undertaking,  he  matured  his 
plans  and  began  to  publish  them  abroad.  He 
seems  to  have  at  once  imparted  his  own  enthusi 
asm  to  others.  The  mayor  of  his  own  city,  Cin 
cinnati,  the  governor  and  senator  of  his  own  State, 
Ohio,  the  latter  the  eminent  Salmon  P.  Chase,  late 
Chief-Justice  of  the  United  States,  became  his 
patrons.  Coming  east,  many  of  the  great  and 
wise  men  of  our  large  cities  gave  him  an  attentive 
hearing,  and  not  a  few  encouraged  his  project. 
The  princely  merchant,  Henry  Grinnell,  who  had 
already  done  so  much  in  the  Franklin  search,  took 
him  at  once  into  kindly  sympathy. 

From  New  York  he  went  to  New  London.    From 
the  old  whalemen,  at  least  from  individuals   of 


288  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

them  of  marked  character  and  large  experience 
in  Arctic  navigation,  he  obtained  encouraging 
words. 

His.^plan  of  search  which  thus  so  readily  corn- 
mendeo  itself  was  this  :  He  would  go  into  the  re 
gion  where  it  was  now  known  that  Franklin  and 
some  of  his  men  had  died ;  he  would  live  with  the 
Esquimo,  learn  their  language,  adopt  their  habits 
of  life,  and  thus  learn  all  that  they  knew  of  the 
history  of  the  ill-fated  expedition.  He  assumed 
that  many  of  its  men  might  yet  be  alive,  and  if 
they  were,  the  natives  would  know  it,  know  where 
they  were,  and  could  guide  him  to  them. 

To  prepare  himself  for  this  work  he  became 
conversant  with  Arctic  literature,  learning  all  that 
the  books  on  the  subject  taught ;  he  applied  him 
self  closely  to  the  study  of  the  practical  science 
bearing  on  his  enterprise,  learning  the  use  of  its 
instruments.  He  sought  interviews  and  corre 
spondence  with  returned  explorers  and  whalemen. 
In  fact,  his  heart  was  in  the  work  with  a  down 
right  enthusiasm. 

The  marked  features  of  his  plan  seemed  to  be 
two — it  was  inexpensive  and  new.  As  to  the  man 
ning  of  his  expedition,  he  proposed  to  go  alone  ;  as 
to  vessels,  he  asked  none.  He  only  asked  to  be  con 
veyed  to  the  proposed  Esquimo  country,  and  to 
be  left  with  its  natives.  We  might  name  a  third 
attractive  feature  of  this  plan,  one  which  always 
inspires  interest — it  was  bold,  bordering  on  the 
audacious ! 

We  need  hardly  say  to    our   readers  that   the 


Something  New.  289 

name  of  this  new  candidate  for  Arctic  perils  and 
honors  was  Charles  Francis  Hall — a  name  now 
greatly  honored  and  lamented.* 

Mr.  Hall  was  born  in  Rochester,  New  Hamp 
shire,  in  1821,  where  he  worked  a  while  at  the 
blacksmith's  trade,  but  left  both  the  trade  and  his 
native  place  in  early  life  for  the  Queen  City  of  the 
West.  The  result  of  Mr.  Hall's  enthusiastic  ap 
peals  was  an  offer  by  the  firm  of  Williams  &  Ha 
ven,  whale-ship  owners  of  New  London,  to  convey 
him  and  his  outfit  in  their  bark  "  George  Henry  " 
to  his  point  of  operations,  and  if  ever  desired,  to 
give  him  the  same  free  passage  home  in  any  of 
their  ships.  The  "  George  Henry  "  was  going,  of 
course,  after  whales,  and  proposed  thus  to  convey 
him  as  an  obliging  incident  of  the  trip. 

This  proposal  was  made  in  the  early  spring  of 
1860.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May  he  sailed. 
His  outfit  was  simple,  and  had  the  appearance  of 
a  private,  romantic  excursion.  It  consisted  of  a 
good  sized,  staunch  whaleboat  built  for  his  special 
use,  a  sledge,  a  few  scientific  instruments,  a  rifle, 
six  double-barreled  shot-guns,  a  Colt's  revolver, 
and  the  ammunition  supposed  to  be  necessary  for 
a  long  separation  from  the  source  of  supply.  A 
start  was  given  him  in  a  small  store  of  provisions ; 
beyond  that  he  was  to  supply  himself.  A  tolerable 
supply  of  trinkets  were  added  as  a  basis  of  trade 
with  the  natives.  What  funds  this  miniature  ex 
ploring  expedition  required  was  given  largely  by 
Mr.  Grinnell. 

*  Sec  Frontispiece. 


2QO  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

The  "  George  Henry  "  was  accompanied  by 
a  tender,  a  small  schooner  named  the  "  Rescue," 
having  already  an  Arctic  fame.  The  officers  and 
crew  of  both  vessels  numbered  twenty-nine,  under 
command  of  Captain  S.  O.  Buddington. 

We  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Hall  as  the  only  man 
of  his  exhibition ;  he  had  after  all  one  companion. 
The  previous  year  Captain  Buddington  had  brought 
home  an  Esquimo  by  the  name  of  Kudlago,  who 
was  now  returning  to  his  fatherland  and  to  his 
wife  and  children.  Upon  him  Mr.  Hall  largely 
depended  as  an  interpreter,  a  friend,  and  guide,  in 
his  work. 

The  run  of  the  "  George  Henry  "  to  the  Green 
land  coast  was  made  with  but  one  marked  inci 
dent.  That  was  to  Mr.  Hall  a  very  sad  one, 
giving  him  the  fir?t  emphatic  lesson  in  the  uncer 
tainty  of  his  most  carefully  devised  schemes.  It 
was  the  death  and  burial  at  sea  of  Kudlago.  He 
had  left  New  London  in  good  health,  taken 
cold  in  the  fogs  of  Newfoundland,  and  declined 
rapidly.  He  prayed  fervently  to  be  permitted  to 
see  his  wife  and  children — only  that,  and  he  would 
die  content.  He  inquired  daily  while  confined  to 
his  berth  if  any  ice  was  in  sight.  His  last  words 
were,  "  Teiko  seko?  teiko  scko?  " — Do  you  see  ice  ? 
do  you  see  ice  ?  The  Greenland  shore  was  just 
in  sight  when  he  departed,  and  his  home  and 
family  were  three  hundred  miles  away. 

The  "  George  Henry  "  and  her  tender,  the  "  Res 
cue,"  sailed  north,  along  the  Greenland  coast,  as 
far  as  Holsteinberg,  where. Mr.  Hall  purchased  six 


Something  New.  291 

Esquimo  dogs.  The  vessel  then  stood  southwest 
across  Davis  Strait  and  made,  August  eighth,  a 
snug  harbor,  which  Mr.  Hall  called  Grinnell  Bay, 
a  little  north  of  what  is  known  as  Frobisher  Strait. 
Here  Mr.  Hall  was  to  land  and  commence  his  Es 
quimo  life,  alone  and  far  away  from  a  Christian 
home,  while  the  vessel  went  about  its  business 
capturing  whales.  His  feelings  on  the  voyage  are 
indicated  by  the  following  extract  from  his  diary  : 

"  A  good  run  with  a  fair  breeze  yesterday.  Ap 
proaching  the  north  axis  of  the  earth  !  Aye,  near- 
ing  the  goal  of  my  fondest  wishes.  Every  thing 
relating  to  the  arctic  zone  is  deeply  interesting  to 
me.  I  love  the  snows,  the  ices,  the  icebergs,  the 
fauna  and  the  flora  of  the  North.  I  love  the  cir-. 
cling  sun,  the  long  day,  the  arctic  night,  when  the 
soul  can  commune  with  God  in  silent  and  reverential 
awe !  I  am  on  a  mission  of  love.  I  feel  to  be  in 
the  performance  of  a  duty  I  owe  to  mankind,  my 
self,  and  God!  Thus  feeling  I  am  strong  at  heart, 
full  of  faith,  ready  to  do  or  die  in  the  cause  I  have 
espoused."  How  he  felt  when  actually  engaged  in 
his  "  mission  of  love,"  we  shall  see. 

We  musf  not,  however,  think  of  Mr.  Hall.in  a  re 
gion  comparable  to  that  which  included  the  winter- 
quarters  of  Kane  and  Hayes  in  the  expeditions  we 
have  just  described.  They  were  at  least  twelve  de 
grees  farther  north,  Mr.  Hall  being  south  of  the 
arctic  circle,  so  that  his  winter  nights  were  shorter 
and  milder.  His  present  field  of  operation  was  on 
a  coast  visited  by  the  whale-ships,  and  whage  they 
at  times  wintered.  Besides,  natives  had  ^ren  for 


2Q2  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

many  years  in  contact  with  white  men,  and  were  in 
some  respect  more  agreeable  companions.  He  will 
therefore,  as  we  follow  him,  lead  us  into  new  scenes 
of  peculiar  interest,  and  show  us  novel  features  in 
the  character  of  the  Esquimo. 

The  whale-ship  "  Black  Eagle,"  Captain  Allen,  lay 
in  Grinnell  Bay  on  the  arrival  of  our  voyagers,  and 
the  captain  soon  appeared  on  the  deck  of  the 
"  George  Henry,"  with  several  Esquimo.  One  of 
these  natives,  named  Ugarng,  especially  attracted 
Mr.  Hall's  attention.  He  was  intelligent,  possess 
ing  strong  lines  of  character,  and  a  marked  physical 
development.  He  had  spent  a  year  on  a  visit  to 
the  United  States.  Speaking  of  New  York,  he  said 
with  a  sailor's  emphasis  :  "  No  good  !  too  much 
horse !  too  much  house !  too  much  white  peo 
ple  !  Women  ?  Ah  !  women  great  many — good  !  " 
Ugarng  will  become  a  familiar  acquaintance. 

Mr.  Hall  had  giving  special  attention  on  the 
voyage  across  Davis  Strait  to  his  dogs,  and  they 
were  now  to  become  a  chief  dependence.  He  fed 
them  on  capelin,  or  dried  fish.  One  day  he  called 
them  all  around  him,  each  in  his  assigned  place, 
to  receive  in  turn  his  fish.  Now  there  was  one 
young,  shrewd  dog,  Barbekark,  who  had  not 
heard,  or  had  never  cared  to  heed  the  proverb  that 
"  honesty  is  the  best  policy."  He  said  to  himself, 
"  If  I  can  get  two  of  the  fish  while  the  other  dogs 
get  but  one,  it  will  be  a  nice  thing  to  do ;  "  so,  tak 
ing  his  place  near  the  head  of  the  row,  he  was 
served  with  his  capelin.  Then,  slipping  out,  he 
crowded  between  the  dogs  farther  down,  and  with 


Something  New.  293 

a  very  innocent  look  awaited  his  turn.  His  master 
thought  this  so  sharp  in  young  Barbekark  that  he 
pretended  not  to  see  the  trick,  and  dealed  him  a  fish 
as  if  he  had  received  none.  On  going  the  round 
again  his  master  found  him  near  the  head  of  the  ro\v 
and  then  at  the  foot,  so  the  rogue  obtained  Benja 
min's  portion.  Seeing  his  success,  he  winked  his 
knowing  eye  as  much  as  to  say,  "Ain't  I  the  smartest 
dog  in  the  pack!  "  But  Barbekark  had  entered  on 
a  rough  road  with  many  turns,  as  all  rogues  do. 
After  going  round  several  times,  during  which  the 
trick  was  a  success,  Mr.  Hall  skipped  the  trickster 
altogether.  It  mattered  not  what  place  he  crowded 
into,  there  was  no  more  fish  for  him.  The  upshot 
was  that  he  received  many  less  than  did  his  com 
panions.  Never  did  a  dog  look  more  ashamed. 
From  that  time  he  kept  his  place  when  fish  were 
distributed. 

Mr.  Hall,  making  the  vessel  his  home,  made  fre 
quent  visits  ashore,  and  received  many  Esquimo 
visitors  on  board,  and  was  thus  becoming  ac 
quainted  with  the  people.  An  early  visitor  was 
Kokerjabin,  wife  of  Kudlago,  accompanied  by  her 
son.  She  had  learned  in  her  tent  that  her  anxious 
ly  awaited  husband  had  been  left  in  the  deep  sea. 
She  entered  the  cabin  and  looked  at  her  husband's 
white  friends,  and  at  the  chest  which  contained 
his  personal  goods,  with  deep  emotion  ;  but  when 
Captain  Buddington  opened  the  chest,  the  tears 
flowed  freely  ;  and  when  she,  in  taking  out  things, 
came  to  those  Kudlago  had  obtained  in  the  States 
for  herself  and  her  little  girl,  she  sat  down,  buried 
19 


294  NORTH- POLE  VOYAGES. 

her  face  in  her  hands,  and  wept  with  deep  grief. 
She  soon  after  went  ashore  with  her  son  to  weep 
alone. 

Another  very  marked  character  was  Paulooyer, 
or,  as  the  white  men  called  him,  Blind  George. 
He  was  now  about  forty  years  of  age  and  had  been 
blind  nearly  ten  years,  from  the  effects  of  a  severe 
sickness.  To  this  blindness  was  added  domestic 
sorrow.  His  wife  Nikujar  was  very  kind  to  him  for 
five  years  after  his  loss  of  sight,  sharing  their  con 
sequent  poverty.  But  Ugarng,  who  had  already 
several  wives,  offered  her  a  place  in  his  tent  as  his 
"  household  wife  " — the  place  of  honor  in  Esqui- 
mo  esteem.  The  offer  was  tempting,  for  Ugarng 
was  "a  mighty  hunter,"  and  rich  at  all  times  in 
blubber,  in  furs  and  skin  tents  and  snow  huts. 
So  she  left  poor  George,  taking  with  her  their  little 
daughter,  called  Kookooyer.  This  child  became  a 
pet  with  Ugarng,  as  she  was  with  her  blind  father. 


A  Fearful  Storm.  295 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

A    FEARFUL    STORM. 

WHILE  the  "  George  Henry  "  lay  at  Grinnell 
Bay,  Mr.  Hall  talked  much  with  the  mas 
ters  of  the  whale-ships  and  with  the  most  intelli 
gent  of  the  natives  concerning  his  proposed  jour 
ney  to  King  William's  Land.  This  was  a  far-away 
region,  where  the  remains  of  the  Franklin  expedi 
tion  had  been  found.  He  proposed  to  secure  the 
company  of  one  or  more  Esquimo  and  make  an 
attempt  to  reach  it  with  a  dog-sledge,  and  to  take 
up  his  abode  with  its  natives  in  search  of  informa 
tion  of  the  lost  ones.  But  both  his  white  and  Es 
quimo  advisers  agreed  that  it  was  too  late  in  the 
season  to  begin  such  a  journey.  Mr.  Hall  would 
then  take  the  whale-boat  built  for  him,  man  it  with 
natives,  and  make  the  attempt  by  water.  But  this 
was  deemed  impracticable  until  spring.  So  he  de 
cided  to  make  his  home  on  board  the  vessel  so 
long  as  she  remained  on  the  coast,  and  pursue  his 
study  of  the  Esquimo  language  and  his  survey  of 
the  region  of  country,  with  this  home  as  a  base  of 
operations. 

On  his  return  from  one  of  his  inland  excursion's 
with  Kudlago's  son,  whom  the  whites  called  cap 
tain,  he  saw  his  widow,  apart  from  all  the  people, 
weeping  for  her  great  bereavement.  Her  son  ran 


296  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

to  her  and  tried  to  comfort  her,  but  she  would  not 
be  comforted.  When  Mr.  Hall  approached  she 
pointed  to  the  spot  where  their  tent  was  pitched 
when  Kudlago  left  for  the  United  States.  She 
also  showed  him  the  bones  of  a  whale  which  he 
had  assisted  in  capturing. 

Soon  after  this  the  widow  visited  the  vessel 
with  her  daughter,  Kimmiloo,  who  had  been  the 
idol  of  her  father.  She  looked  sad  on  the  mention 
of  her  father's  name,  but,  child-like,  her  eyes 
gleamed  with  joy  on  seeing  the  fine  things  his 
chest  contained  for  her.  Captain  B.'s  wife  had 
sent  her  a  pretty  red  dress,  necktie,  mittens,  belt, 
and  other  like  valuables  of  little  white  girls.  But 
Mr.  Hall  suggested  that  Kimmiloo's  introduction 
to  the  dress  of  civilization  should  be  preceded  by 
soap  and  water.  The  process  of  arriving  at  the 
little  girl  through  layers  of  dirt  was  very  slow. 
When  this  was  done,  her  kind  friend  Hall  took  a 
very  coarse  comb,  and  commenced  combing  her 
hair.  This  had  never  been  done  before,  and  of 
course  the  comb  "  pulled  "  in  spite  of  the  care  of 
the  operator,  but  Kimmiloo  bore  it  bravely.  Her 
locks  were  filled  with  moss,  greasy  bits  of  seal, 
and  disgusting  reindeer  hairs,  besides  other  things 
both  active  and  numerous.  A  full  hour  was  spent 
on  the  hair,  but  when  the  comb  went  through  it 
easily,  then  the  little  girl  run  her  fingers  into  it 
and  braided  quickly  a  tag  on  each  side  of  her 
head ;  she  then  drew  these  through  brass  rings 
whicli  Mr.  Hall  had  given  her.  Her  Esquimo  fur 
trowsers  and  coat  were  thrown  off,  and  the  now 


A  Fearful  Storm.  297 

clean  and  really  beautiful  girl  put  on  the  red 
dress.  Her  happiness  would  have  been  complete 
had  her  father  been  there  to  share  her  joy. 

Mr.'  Hall's  kindly  nature  led  him  to  study  the 
natives  in  these  incidents,  and  to  record  them  in 
his  journals.  Ugarng  was  one  time  in  the  cabin 
when  Mr.  Hall  had  put  a  few  small  balls  of  mer 
cury  on  a  sheet  of  white  paper.  It  was  a  new 
article  to  the  Esquimo,  and  he  tried  to  pick  it  up 
with  his  thumb  and  ringer,  but  it  escaped  his 
grasp.  His  efforts  would  scatter  it  over  the  sheet 
in  small  globules,  and  then  as  he  lifted  the  cor 
ners  of  the  paper  it  would  run  together,  and 
Ugarng  would  commence  catching  it  with  new 
vigor.  He  continued  his  efforts  for  a  full  half  hour. 
Amused  at  first,  but  finally  losing  his  temper,  he 
gave  it  up,  exclaiming  petulantly  that  there  was  an 
evil  spirit  in  it. 

Blind  George  became  a  constant  visitor.  At 
one  time  Mr.  Hall  gave  him  a  much  worn  coat, 
showing  one  of  the  several  holes  in  it.  George 
immediately  took  a  needle,  and,  bringing  his 
tongue  to  the  aid  of  his  hands,  threaded  it,  and 
mended  all  of  the  rents  very  neatly.  At  another 
time  Mr.  Hall  put  into  George's  hand  a  piece  of 
steel  with  a  magnet  attached.  The  way  the  steel 
flew  from  his  hand  to  the  magnet  amazed  him. 
At  first  he  seemed  to  think  it  was  not  really  so  ; 
but  when  he  clearly  felt  the  steel  leap  from  his 
fingers,  he  threw  both  steel  and  magnet  violently 
upon  the  floor.  But  feeling  he  was  not- hurt,  and 
that  some  little  girls  laughed  at  him,  he  tried  it 


298  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

again  more  deliberately,  and  was  better  satisfied. 
Mr.  Hall  next  gave  him  a  paper  of  needles,  desir 
ing  him  to  bring  the  magnet  near  them.  He  did 
so,  and  when  the  needles  flew  from  his  hand  by 
the  attraction  he  sprung  to  his  feet  as  if  an 
electric  current  had  touched  him,  and  the  needles 
were  scattered  in  every  direction  over  the  floor. 
He  declared  that' Mr.  Hall  was  an  "  Angekok." 

On  the  fourteenth  of  August  another  whaling 
vessel  belonging  to  the  owners  of  the  "  George 
Henry  "  arrived  at  Grinnell  Bay.  Her  name  was  the 
11  Georgiana,"  Captain  Tyson  ;  so  there  were  now 
four  vessels  near  each  other — the  "  Rescue  "  and 
"Black  Eagle,"  besides  those  just  named.  There 
were  social,  merry  tim^es.  But  Captain  Budding- 
ton,  having  built  a  hut  here  that  some  of  his  men 
might  remain  to  fish,  took  his  vessels  farther  south, 
for  winter-quarters,  into  a  bay  separated  from 
Frobisher  Bay  on  the  south  by  only  a  narrow  strip 
of  land.  This  Mr.  Hall  named  Field  Bay.  Here, 
snugly  hid  in  an  inlet  of  its  upper  waters,  the  ves 
sels  proposed  to  winter.  The  Esquimo  were  not 
long  in  finding  the  new  anchorage  of  the  whites, 
and  in  a  few  days  a  fleet  of  kayaks  containing 
seven  families  appeared.  Among  them  was  Kud- 
lago's  oldest  daughter,  now  married  to  a  native 
the  sailors  called  Johnny  Bull.  She  had  hot  heard 
of  her  father's  death,  and  stepped  on  deck  elated 
at  the  thought  of  meeting  him.  "Where  is  my 
father?"  she  inquired  of  Ugarng's  wife.  When 
she  was  tenderly  told  the  sad  story  of  his  death 
she  wept  freely. 


A  Fearful  Storm.  299 

Mr.  Hall  was  at  once  busy  visiting  the  "  tupics," 
summer  tents  made  of  skins,  pitched  by  the  na 
tives  near  the  shore.  He  also  rowed  to  the  islands 
in  various  directions,  generally  accompanied  by 
one  or  more  Esquimo.  On  one  of  these  visits  to 
an  island  with  a  boy  he  had  a  narrow  escape. 
After  several  hours'  ramble  they  returned  to  the 
landing,  where  they  had  left  their  boat  fastened  to 
a  rock.  The  tide  had  risen  and  the  boat  was  danc 
ing  on  the  waves  out  of  reach.  Here  was  a  "  fix !  " 
They  were  far  away  from  the  vessel,  the  night, 
cold  and  dark,  was  coming  on,  and  they  were 
without  shelter.  But  necessity  sharpens  one's 
wits.  After  some  delay  and  perplexity,  Mr.  Hall 
hit  upon  this  plan  :  He  took  the  seal-skin  strings 
from  his  boots,  and  the  strings  by  which  various 
scientific  instruments  were  attached  to  his  person, 
tied  them  together,  and  thus  made  quite  a  long 
and  strong  line.  To  this  he  tied  a  moderate  sized 
stone.  Holding  one  end  of  the  line  in  his  hand, 
he  tossed  the  stone  into  the  boat  and  gently  drew 
it  to  him,  jumped  into  it,  and  was  soon  at  the  ves 
sel.  If  Mr.  Hall  had  not  been  a  green  boatman 
he  would  not  have  fastened  his  boat  below  high- 
water  mark  when  the  tide  was  coming  in  !  He 
probably  did  not  again. 

One  day  the  crew  of  the  "  Henry  "  captured  a 
whale  in  the  bay,  and  the  Esquimo  joined  with 
others  in  towing  the  monster  to  the  ship.  In  one 
of  the  boats  was  an  Esquimo  woman  with  a  babe  ; 
she  laid  her  child  in  the  bow  of  the  boat  and 
pulled  an  oar  with  the  strongest  of  the  white  men. 


3OO  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

Before  they  reached  the  vessel  the  wind  blew  a 
gale,  the  sea  ran  high,  and  at  times  the  spray  shot 
into  the  air  and  came  down  in  plentiful  showers 
into  the  boat.  The  mother  cast  anxious  glances 
at  her  child,  and,  as  if  it  was  for  its  life,  rowed  with 
giant  strength.  At  last  the  prize  was  safely  moored 
to,  the  "Henry,"  and  the  natives  were  rewarded 
with  generous  strips  of  its  black  skin,  which  they 
ate  voraciously,  raw  and  warm  from  the  animal. 
They  carried  portions  of  it  to  their  tupics  on  shore 
for  future  use.  This  skin  is  about  three  fourths 
of  an  inch  thick,  and,  in  even  Mr.  Hall's  estima 
tion,  is  "  good  eating "  when  raw,  "  but  better 
soused  in  vinegar." 

Soon  after  this,  Captain  Tyson  brought  the 
"  Georgiana  "  round  into  Field  Bay,  and  the  crews 
of  the  two  vessels  were  often  together  when  a 
whale  made  its  appearance,  a  circumstance  some 
times  the  occasion  of  strife  when  he  is  captured. 
One  day  Smith,  an  officer  of  the  "  Henry,"  fastened 
a  harpoon  in  a  whale,  and  was  devising  means  to 
secure  his  prey.  Captain  Tyson,  who  was  near  in 
his  boat,  killed  the  monster  with  his  lances,  and 
without  a  word,  left  Smith  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of 
taking  it  to  his  vessel.  The  generous  act  was  ap 
preciated  on  board  the  "  Henry." 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  December  a  terrible 
storm  commenced,  causing  the  boats  which  were 
cruising  for  whales  to  scud  home.  The  three  ves 
sels — the  "  Henry,"  "  Rescue,"  and  "  Georgiana  " — 
were  anchored  near  each  other,  and  near  an  island 
toward  which  the  wind  was  blowing.  It  was  about 


A  Fearful  Storm.  301 

noon  when  the  storm  began,  and  as  the  day  de 
clined  the  wind  increased,  bringing  on  its  wings  a 
cloud  of  snow.  When  the  night  came  on  it  was  in 
tensely  dark,  and  the  waves  rose  higher  and  higher 
as,  driven  by  the  tempest,  they  rolled  swiftly  by  and 
dashed  upon  the  rocky  shore.  The  vessels  la 
bored  heavily  in  the  billows  and  strained  at  their 
anchors,  now  dipping  their  bows  deep  in  the  water, 
then  rising  upon  the  top  of  a  crested  wave,  and 
leaping  again  into  the  trough  of  the  sea,  as  if  im 
patient  of  restraint  and  eager  to  rush  upon  the 
rocks  to  their  own  destruction.  The  roar  of  the 
sea  and  the  howling  of  the  winds  through  the 
shrouds  were  appalling  to  all  on  board,  while  they 
awaited  with  breathless  interest  the  integrity  of 
the  anchors,  on  which  their  lives  depended. 

As  the  night  wore  on  the  watch  on  deck,  peer 
ing  through  the  darkness,  saw  the  dim  outlines  of 
the  "  Rescue  "  steadily  and  slowly  moving  toward 
the  shore.  "  She  drags  her  anchors  !  "  were  the 
fearful  words  which  passed  in  whispers  through  the 
"  George  Henry."  But  all  breathed  easier  to  hear 
the  repoit  from  the  watch  soon  after  that  she  had 
come  to  a  pause  nearly  abreast  of  the  "  Henry." 

About  midnight  the  storm  put  forth  all  the  fury 
of  its  power,  and  the  small  anchor  of  the  "  Geor- 
giana "  gave  way,  and  the  others  went  plowing 
along  their  ocean  beds,  and,  as  the  vessel  neared 
the  island,  her  destruction  and  the  loss  of  all  on 
board  seemed  certain.  The  endangered  craft 
\vorried  round  a  point  of  rocks,  pounding  against 
them  as  she  went,  and  reached  smoother  and  safer 


302  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

waters,  where  her  anchors  remained  firm.  The 
ghostly-looking  forms  of  her  men  were  soon  after 
seen  on  the  island,  to  which  they  had  escaped  ! 
In  the  mean  time  the  men  on  the  "  Henry  "  were 
in  constant  fear  that  their  vessel  would  be  dashed 
upon  rocks. 

Just  as  the  morning  was  breaking  the  "  Rescue  " 
broke  away  and  went  broadside  upon  the  island. 
With  a  crash  the  breakers  hurled  her  against  the 
rocks,  and  seemed  to  bury  her  in  their  white  foam. 
She  was  at  once  a  hopeless  wreck,  but  her  crew 
still  clung  bravely  to  her.  When  the  morning 
light  had  fully  come,  at  the  first  lull  in  the  storm, 
while  yet  the  waves  rolled  with  unabated  fury,  a 
whaleboat  was  lowered  into  the  sea  from  the  stern 
of  the  "  Henry  "  with  a  strong  line  attached,  and 
mate  Rogers  and  a  seaman  stepped  into  it.  Cau 
tiously  and  skillfully  it  was  guided  to  the  stern  of 
the  "Rescue."  Into  it  her  men  were  taken,  and 
drawn  safely  to  the  "  Henry."  All  were  saved !  A 
shout  of  joy  mingled  with  the  tumult  of  the  ele 
ments  ! 

The  "  Henry  "  safely  outrode  the  storm.  The 
"  Georgiana  "  was  not  seriously  injured,  and  her 
men  returned  to  her  and  sailed  away  for  other 
winter-quarters.  The  "  Rescue  "  was  a  complete 
wreck,  and,  what  was  a  stunning  blow  to  the  en 
terprise  of  Mr.  Hall,  his  expedition  boat,  in  which, 
with  an  Esquimo  crew,  he  had  hoped  to  reach  the 
far-away  land  of  his  lone  sojourn  and  search  for 
the  Franklin  men,  was  totally  wrecked  too  !  What 
now  should  he  do  ?  That  was  to  him  the  question 


A  Fearful  Storm.  303 

of  questions.  One  thing  he  resolved  not  to  do — 
he  would  not  abandon  his  mission.  Captain  Bud- 
dington  thought  at  first  that  he  might  spare  him 
one  of  the  ship's  boats  in  which  to  reach  King 
William's  Land ;  but,  on  careful  inquiry,  he  found 
that  the  only  one  he  could  part  with  was  rotten 
and  untrustworthy.  So  waiting  and  watching  be 
came  his  present  duty. 


304  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE   AURORA. 

MR.  HALL  had  an  eye  for  the  beautiful  in 
nature.  The  aurora  deeply  impressed  him, 
inspiring  feelings  of  awe  and  reverence.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  explorers  in  the  low  latitude  of  Fro- 
bisher  Bay  are  treated  to  displays  of  the  aurora  on 
a  scale  of  magnificence  and  beauty  never  seen 
in  the  high  latitudes  of  the'  winter-quarters  of 
Dr.  Kane  and  Hayes.  Night  after  night  through 
the  months  of  October,  November,  and  December 
Mr.  Hall's  sensitive  nature  was  in  raptures  at 
the  wonderful  sights.  The  heavens  were  aglow. 
The  forms  of  brightness,  and  colors  of  every  hue, 
changed  with  the  rapidity  of  fleecy  clouds  driven  be 
fore  the  wind.  Before  the  mind  had  comprehended 
the  grandeur  of  one  scene,  it  had  changed  into  an 
other  of  seeming  greater  beauty  of  form,  color,  and 
brightness.  Thousands  of  such  changes  occurred 
while  he  gazed.  No  wonder  he  exclaims  :  "  Who 
but  God  could  conceive  such  infinite  scenes  of 
glory  !  Who  but  God  execute  them,  painting  the 
heavens  in  such  gorgeous  display !  " 

Again  he  exclaims :  "  It  seemeth  to  me  as  if 
the  very  doors  of  heaven  have  opened  to-night,  so 
mighty  and  beauteous  and  marvelous  were  the  waves 
of  golden  light  which  swept  across  the  azure 


The  Aurora.  305 

deep,  breaking  forth  anon  into  floods  of  wondrous 
glory.  God  made  his  wonderful  works  to  be  re 
membered." 

Mr.  Hall  had  been  on  deck  several  times,  wit 
nessing  the  enrapturing  display,  and  had  returned 
into  the  cabin  to  go  to  bed,  when  the  captain 
shouted  down  the  companion-way  :  "  Come  above, 
Hall,  at  once  !  The  world  is  on  fire  !  "  Mr.  Hall 
hastened  on  deck.  He  says  :  "  There  was  no  sun, 
no  moon,  yet  the  heavens  were  flooded  with  light. 
Even  ordinary  print  could  be  read  on  deck.  Yes, 
flooded  with  rivers  of  light ! — and  such  light !  light 
all  but  inconceivable  !  The  golden  hues  predom 
inated  ;  but  in  ra'pid  succession  prismatic  colors 
leaped  forth. 

"  We  looked,  we  saw,  and  we  trembled ;  for  even 
as  we  gazed  the  whole  belt  of  aurora  began  to  be 
alive  with  flashes.  Then  each  pile  or  bank  of 
light  became  myriads ;  some  now  dropping  down 
the  great  pathway  or  belt,  others  springing  up, 
others  leaping  with  lightning  flash  from  one  side, 
while  more  as  quickly  passed  into  the  vacated 
space  ;  some,  twisting  themselves  into  folds,  en 
twining  with  others  like  enormous  serpents,  and 
all  these  movements  as  quick  as  the  eye  could  fol 
low.  It  seemed  as  though  there  was  a  struggle 
with  these  heavenly  lights  to  reach  and  occupy 
the  dome  above  our  heads.  Then  the  whole  arch 
above  became  crowded.  Down,  down  it  came  ! 
nearer  and  nearer  it  approached  us  !  Sheets  of 
golden  flames,  coruscating  while  leaping  from  the 
auroral  belt,  seemed  as  if  met  in  their  course  by 


306  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

some  mighty  agency  that  turned  them  into  the  col 
ors  of  the  rainbow. 

"  While  the  auroral  fires  seemed  to  be  descend 
ing  upon  us,  one  of  our  number  exclaimed, 
'  Hark  !  hark  ! '  Such  a  display,  as  if  a  warfare 
were  going  on  among  the  beauteous  lights,  seemed 
impossible  without  noise.  But  all  was  silent." 

After  the  watchers,  amazed  at  what  they  saw, 
retired  to  the  cabin,  they  very  naturally  com 
menced  a  lively  conversation  on  what  they  had  wit 
nessed.  Captain  Buddington  declared  that,  though 
he  had  spent  most  of  his  time  for  eleven  years  in 
the  northern  regions,  he  had  never  witnessed  so 
grand  and  beautiful  a  scene.  And  he  added  in  an 
earnest  tone  •  "  To  tell  you  the  truth,  friend  Hall, 
I  do  not  care  to  see  the  like  again !  " 

In  November  Mr.  Hall  became  acquainted  with 
two  remarkable  Esquimo  whom  we  shall  often 
meet.  Their  names  were  Ebierbing  and  his  wife 
Tookoolito,  but  were  known  among  the  white 
people  as  Joe  and  Hannah.  They  had  been  taken 
to  England  in  1853,  and  lionized  there  for  two 
years.  They  had  visited  the  great  and  good  of 
that  land  at  their  homes,  and  had  aptly  learned 
many  of  the  refinements  of  civilization.  Queen 
Victoria  had  honored  them  with  an  audience,  and 
they  had  dined  with  Prince  Albert.  Joe  declared 
that  the  queen  was  "  pretty — yes,  quite  pretty ;  "  and 
the  prince  was  "good — very  good."  They  made 
their  visit  on  shipboard  in  a  full-blown  English 
dress,  but  when  Mr.  Hall  returned  their  visit  in 
their  tuple  on  shore  they  were  in  the  Esquimo  cos- 


The  Aurora.  307 

tume.  Yet  Tookoolito  busied  herself  with  her 
knitting  during  his  call.  She  said,  as  they  con 
versed  :  "  I  feel  very  sorry  to  say  that  many  of 
the  whaling  people  are  bad,  making  the  Innuits  bad 
too ;  they  swear  very  much,  and  make  our  people 
swear.  I  wish  they  would  not  do  so.  Americans 
swear  a  great  deal — more  and  worse  than  the  En 
glish.  I  wish  no  one  would  swear.  It  is  a  very 
bad  practice  I  believe." 

Tookoolito's  spirit  and  example  had  done  much 
to  improve  her  people,  especially  the  women ; 
these,  many  of  them,  had  adopted  her  habit  of 
dressing  her  hair,  and  of  cleanliness  of  person  and 
abode.  In  her  and  her  husband,  whom  we  shall 
meet  often,  we  shall  see  the  Esquimo  as  modified 
by  a  partial  Christian  civilization. 

Mr.  Hall  made  frequent  visits  to  the  Esquimo 
village  on  shore,  mingling  with  the  people,  con 
forming  to  their  habits,  and  studying  their  char 
acter.  Their  summer,  skin-covered  huts — tupics 
— had  now  given  way  to  the  igloos,  the  snow-house, 
essentially  like  those  we  have  before  seen.  We 
will  accompany  Mr.  Hall  in  a  visit  made  in  Octo 
ber.  He  found  on  creeping  into  a  hut  a  friend 
whom  he  knew  as  a  pilot  and  boatman  ;  his  name 
was  Koojesse.  He  was  sitting  in  the  midst  of  a 
group  of  women  drinking  with  a  gusto  hot  seal 
blood.  Our  white  visitor  joined  them,  and  pro 
nounced  the  dish  excellent.  On  going  out  he 
was  met  by  blind  George.  "  Mitter  Hall !  Mitter 
Hall !  "  shouted  the  blind  man  on  hearing  Mr. 
Hall's  voice.  There  was  a  pensive  earnestness  in 


308  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

the  call  which  arrested  his  attention.  "  Ugarng 
come  to-day!"  continued  George.  "He  come 
to-day.  My  little  Kookooyer  way  go !  She  here 
now.  Speak-um,  Ugarng !  My  little  pickaninny 
way  go !  Speak-um." 

The  facts  were  these :  Ugarng,  who,  as  we  have 
stated,  had  married  George's  wife,  and  taken  with 
the  mother  his  little  daughter,  was  at  the  village 
attended  by  the  latter.  George,  who  was  very 
fond  of  the  child,  desired  her  company  for  a  while. 
Mr.  Hall  did  of  course  "  speak-um."  Ugarng  and 
the  darling  Kookooyer  were  soon  seen  in  happy  in 
timacy  with  her  father. 

Mr.  Hall's  attention  was  attracted  by  an  excited 
crowd,  who  were  listening  to  the  harangue  of  a 
young  man.  He  was  evidently  master  of  the  sit 
uation,  for  at  one  moment  his  audience  clenched 
their  fists  and  raved  like  madmen,  and  then,  un 
der  another  touch  of  his  power,  they  were  calm 
and  thoughtful,  or  melted  to  tears.  He  was  an 
Angekok,  and  was  going  through  a  series  of  ankoot- 
ings,  or  incantations.  His  bowlings  and  gesticu 
lations  were  not  unlike  those  of  the  heathen  priests 
of  the  East,  and  of  the  medicine  men  of  our  In 
dians.  On  seeing  Mr.  Hall  the  Angekok  left  his 
snow-platform,  from  which  he  had  been  speaking, 
and  ran  to  him  with  the  blandest  smiles  and  hon 
ied  words.  He  put  his  arm  in  his  and  invited 
him  into  his  tent,  or  place  of  worship,  as  it  might 
be  called ;  others  ran  ahead,  and  it  was  well  filled 
with  worshipers.  Koojesse,  who  was  passing  at 
the  time  with  water  for  the  ship,  on  a  wave  of  the 


The  Aurora.  309 

Angekok's  hand  set  his  pail  down  and  followed. 
All  faithful  Esquimo  in  this  region  obey  the  Ange- 
kok.  If  he  sees  one  smoking,  and  signifies  that 
he  wishes  the  pipe,  the  smoker  deposits  it  in  the 
Angekok's  pocket. 

When  in  the  tent  the  Angekok  placed  Koojesse 
on  one  side,  and  Mr.  Hall  facing  him  on  the  other 
side.  Now  commenced  the  service.  The  Ange 
kok  began  a  rapid  clapping  of  his  hands,  lifting 
them  at  times  above  his  head,  then  passing  them 
round  in  every  direction,  and  thrusting  them  into 
the  faces  of  the  people,  muttering  the  while  wild, 
incoherent  expressions.  The  clapping  of  his 
hands  was  intermitted  by  a  violent  clapping  of  the 
chest  on  which  he  sat,  first  on  the  top,  then  on  the 
sides  and  end.  At  times  he  would  cease,  and  sit 
statue-like  for  some  moments,  during  which  the 
silence  of  death  pervaded  the  audience.  Then 
the  clapping  and  gesticulations  broke  forth  with 
increased  violence.  Now  arid  then  he  paused,  and 
stared  into  the  farthest  recess  of  the  tent  with  the 
fiery  eyes  and  the  hideous  countenance  of  a  de 
mon.  At  the  right  time,  to  heighten  the  effect,  the 
wizard,  by  a  quick  sign  or  sharp  word,  ordered 
Koojesse  to  fix  his  eyes  on  this  point  of  the  tent, 
then  on  that,  intimating  in  mysterious  undertones 
that  in  such  places  Kudlago's  spirit  shook  the  skin, 
covering  !  Koojesse,  though  one  of  the  most  mus 
cular  and  intelligent  of  the  natives,  obeyed  with 
trembling  promptness,  while  the  profuse  swe?t 
stood  in  drops  upon  his  nose,  (Esquimo  perspire 
freely  only  on  the  nose,)  and  his  countenance 
20 


3io  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

beamed  with  intense  excitement.  The  climax 
was  at  hand.  The  Angekok's  words  began  to  be 
plain  enough  for  Mr.  Hall's  ears.  Kudlago's  spirit 
was  troubled.  Would  the  white  man  please  give 
it  rest  ?  One  of  his  double-barreled  guns  would 
do  it !  White  man  !  white  man  !  give  Kudlago's 
spirit  rest !  Give  the  double-barreled  gun  ! 

The  cunning  wizard !  But  Mr.  Hall,  who,  though 
brimful  of  laugh,  had  been  a  sober-looking  listener, 
was  not  to  be  caught  with  this  chaff,  except  in  his 
own  interest.  He  whispers  to  Koojesse,  "  Would 
the  Angekok  be  a  good  man  to  go  with  me  in  the 
spring  to  King  William's  Land?  " 
"Yes,"  was  the  reply. 

Then  Mr.  Hall  turned  to  the  Angekok  and  said 
aloud,  "  If  you  go  with  me  next  spring  on  my  ex 
plorations  you  shall  have  one  of  my  best  guns." 

Thinking  the  gift  was  to  be  given  immediately, 
his  crafty  reverence  shouted,  thanked  Mr.  Hall, 
threw  his  arms  about  his  neck,  and  danced  with 
an  air  of  triumph  about  the  tent,  seeming  to  say 
as  he  looked  upon  his  amazed  followers,  "  I  have 
charmed  a  kablunah  " — white  man. 

Mr.  Hall  tried  to  set  him  right  about  the  terms 
of  the  gift — that  it  was  to  be  when  he  had  served 
him  in  the  spring.  But  he  would  understand  it  as 
he  would  have  it.  His  joy  found  a  fullness  of  ex 
pression  when,  pointing  to  his  two  wives,  he  said 
to  Mr.  Hall,  "One  shall  be  yours;  take  your 
choice."  He  was  disgusted  when  the  white  man 
told  him  that  he  had  a  wife,  and  that  kabluna 
wanted  but  one  wife. 


The  Dying  Esquimo.  311 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

THE  DYING  ESQUIMO. 

/CHRISTMAS  and  New  Year's  (1861)  were 
\*^s  not  forgotten  as  holidays  by  the  sojourners 
in  the  regions  of  cold  and  ice.  Mr.  Hall  gave 
his  friend  Tookoolito  a  Bible  as  a  memento  of 
December  twenty-fifth.  She  was  much  pleased, 
and  at  once  spelled  out  on  the  title-page,  Holy 
Bible. 

Mr.  Hall  having  heard  that  an  Esquimo  named 
Nukerton  was  seriously  sick,  invited  Tookoolito 
to  visit  her  with  him.  Sitting  down  with  the  sick 
one,  with  Tookoolito  as  an  interpreter,  Mr.  Hall 
spoke  to  her  of  Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  while 
many  of  her  friends  stood  listening  with  intense 
interest.  Tookoolito  bent  over  her  sick  friend 
weeping,  and  continued  the  talk  about  God,  Christ, 
and  heaven,  after  Mr.  Hall  had  ceased. 

Mr.  Hall  visited  the  sick  one  daily,  administer 
ing  to  her  bodily  and  spiritual  wants.  Going  to 
see  her  on  the  fourth  of  January,  he  found  that 
a  new  snow-hut  had  been  built  for  the  dying  one, 
and  her  female  friends  had  carried  her  into  it, 
opening,  to  pass  her  in,  a  hole  on  the  back  side. 
It  was  at  once  her  dying  chamber  and  her  tomb. 
For  this  purpose  it  was  built  in  conformity  to  the 
Esquimo  usage.  He  found  Nukerton  in  her  new 


312  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

quarters  of  stainless  snow,  on  a  bed  of  snow  cov 
ered  with  skins,  happy  at  the  change  though  she 
knew  that  she  had  been  brought  there  to  die,  and 
to  die  alone,  as  was  the  custom  of  her  people.  Mr. 
Hall  proposed  to  carry  her  to  die  on  board  the 
ship.  But  even  Tookoolito  objected  to  this.  It 
was  better  she  should  die  alone ;  such  was  the 
custom  of  their  fathers.  Mr.  Hall  remained  to 
watch  atone  with  the  dying  one,  but,  on  his  leav 
ing  her  igloo  to  do  an  errand  at  a  neighboring 
tent,  her  friends  sealed  up  its  entrance.  He  threw 
back  the  blocks  of  snow  piled  against  it  and  crept 
in.  Nukerton  was  not  dead  ;  she  breathed  feebly  ; 
the  lamp  burned  dimly,  and  the  cold  was  intense ; 
the  solemn  stillness  of  the  midnight  hour  had 
come ;  sound  of  footsteps  were  heard,  and  a  rus 
tling  at  the  entrance.  Busy  hands  were  fastening 
it  up,  not  knowing,  perhaps,  that  Mr.  Hall  was 
within.  "Stop!  stop!"  he  shouted,  arid  all  was 
silent  as  the  grave.  "  Come  in  !  "  he  again  said. 
Koodloo,  Nukerton's  cousin,  and  a  woman  came 
in.  They  remained  a  few  moments  and  left.  Mr. 
Hall  was  alone  again,  and  remained  until  the  spirit 
of  the  dying  woman  departed.  He  gently  closed 
her  eyes,  laid  out  the  body  as  if  for  Christian 
burial,  closed  up  the  igloo,  and  departed. 

Mr.  Hall  knew  cases,  later  in  his  stay  with  this 
people,  in  which  the  dying  were  for  some  time 
alone  before  the  vital  spark  was  extinguished. 
The  only  attendance  that  the  sick  have  is  the  howl 
ing  and  mummery  of  the  Angekoks,  who  are  some 
times  women.  They  give  no  medicine. 


The  Dying  Esquimo.  313 

Mr.  Hall  made  several  sledge  excursions  with 
his  Innuit  friends.  One  to  Cornelius  Grinnell 
Bay  was  full  of  thrilling  incidents,  of  storms,  of 
perils  by  the  breaking  up  suddenly  of  the  ice  on 
which  he  had  encamped,  and  one  showing  the 
wolfish  rapacity  of  Esquimo  dogs.  He  also  had 
a  bear  chase  and  capture.  But  these,  though  full 
of  exciting  interest,  are  similar  to  those  of  other 
explorers,  already  related.  The  Esquimo  them 
selves,  with  all  their  knowledge  of  the  ice  and 
storms,  have  many  desperate  adventures.  A  party 
of  them  was  once  busily  engaged  in  spearing  wal 
rus,  when  the  floe  broke  up  and  they  went  out  to 
sea,  and  remained  three  months  on  their  ice-raft! 
The  walrus  were  plenty,  and  they  had  a  good  time 
of  it,  and  returned  safely. 

We  have  given  our  readers  an  incident  relat 
ing  to  Mr.  Hall's  dog,  Barbekark — a  not  very 
creditable  incident,  it  will  be  remembered,  so  far 
as  that  dog's  discernment  of  moral  right  is  con 
cerned.  But  then  we  must  remember  that  heathen 
dogs  are  not  supposed  to  know  much  in  that  re 
spect.  Barbe,  as  we  will  call  him  for  shortness, 
appears  again  in  our  story  in  a  way  which  shows 
that  he  was  very  knowing  about  some  matters  at 
least. 

One  day,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  a  party  of  the 
ship's  company,  attended  by  the  native  Koojesse, 
started  for  an  excursion  into  Frobisher  Bay.  When 
well  out  of  sight  of  the  vessel  a  blinding  storm 
arose,  making  farther  progress  both  difficult  and 
dangerous.  Koojesse  counseled  an  immediate 


314  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

construction  of  a  snow-hut,  and  a  halt  until  the 
storm  subsided,  which  was  the  right  thing  to  do. 
But  the  white  leader  ordered  a  return  march. 
The  dogs,  as  they  generally  will  with  a  fierce  wind 
blowing  in  their  face,  floundered  about  in  reckless 
insubordination.  Their  leader,  a  strong  animal, 
finally  assumed  his  leadership,  and  dragged  them 
for  a  while  toward  some  islands  just  appearing  in 
sight.  But  Barbe  set  back  in  his  harness,  pricked 
up  his  ears,  and  took  a  deliberate  survey  of  the 
situation.  To  be  sure  he  could  see  only  a  few  rods 
in  any  direction,  but  his  mind  was  made  up.  He 
turned  his  head  away  from  the  islands,  and  drew 
with  such  vigor  and  decision  that  all,  both  men 
and  dogs,  yielded  to  his  guidance.  Through  the 
drifts,  and  in  the  face  of  bewildering  clouds  of 
snow  which  darkened  their  path,  he  brought  the 
party  straight  to  the  ship !  A  few  hours  more  of 
exposure  and  all  would  have  perished. 

Young  Barbe  was  a  brave  hunter  as  well  as 
skillful  guide.  On  a  bright  morning  in  March, 
the  lookout  on  the  deck  of  the  "  Henry  "  shouted 
down  the  gangway  that  a  herd  of  deer  were  in 
sight.  Immediately  the  excitement  of  men  and 
dogs  was  at  fever-heat.  The  dogs,  however,  did 
not  get  the  news  until  Koojesse  had  crept  out,  and 
from  behind  an  island  had  fired  upon  the  deer. 
His  ball  brought  down  no  game,  but  the  report  of 
the  gun  called  out  Barbe  with  the  whole  pack  of 
wolfish  dogs  at  his  heels,  in  full  pursuit  of  the  fly 
ing,  frightened  deer.  The  fugitives  made  tortuous 
tracks,  darting  behind  the  islands,  now  this  way, 


The  Dying  Esquimo.  315 

and  then  off  in  another  direction.  But  Barbe 
struck  across  their  windings  along  the  straight  line 
toward  the  point  at  which  they  were  aiming,  while 
the  rest  of  the  dogs  followed  their  tracks,  and  so 
fell  behind.  Koojesse  returned  to  the  vessel,  the 
hope  which  just  now  was  indulged  of  a  venison 
dinner  was  given  up,  and  the  affair  was  nearly  for 
gotten,  except  that  some  anxiety  was  felt  lest  the 
dogs  should  come  to  harm  in  their  long  and  reck 
less  pursuit. 

About  noon  Barbe  came  on  board  having  his 
mouth  and  body  besmeared  with  blood.  He  ran 
to  this  one,  and  then  to  that,  looking  beseechingly 
into  their  faces,  and  then  running  to  the  gangway 
stairs,  where  he  stopped  and  looked  back,  as  much 
as  to  say,  "  An't  you  coming  ?  Do  come,  I'll  show 
you  something  worth  seeing  !  "  His  strange  move 
ments  were  reported  to  Mr.  Hall  in  the  cabin, 
but  being  busy  writing  he  took  no  notice  of  it. 
One  of  the  men  having  occasion  to  go  toward  the 
shore  Barbe  followed  him,  but  finding  that  he  did 
not  go  in  the  right  direction  he  whined  his  disap 
pointment,  and  started  out  upon  the  floe,  and  then 
turned  and  said  as  plainly  as  a  dog  could  speak, 
"  Come  on ;  this  is  the  way  !  " 

A  party  from  the  ship  determined  now  to  fol 
low.  Barbe  led  them  a  mile  northward,  then,  leav 
ing  them  to  follow  his  foot-prints  in  the  snow,  he 
scampered  off  two  miles  in  a  western  direction. 
This  brought  the  men  to  an  island,  under  the 
shelter  of  which  they  found  the  dogs.  Barbe  was 
sitting  at  the  head  of  a  slaughtered  deer,  and  his 


316  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

companions  squatting  round  as  watchful  sentinels. 
The  deer's  throat  had  been  cut  with  Barbe's  teeth, 
the  jugular  vein  being  severed  as  with  a  knife.  The 
roots  of  the  tongue,  with  bits  of  the  windpipe,  had 
been  eaten,  the  blood  sipped  up,  but  nothing  more. 
Several  crows  were  pecking  away  at  the  carcass 
unforbidden  by  Barbe,  who  petted  crows  as  his 
inferiors. 

Barbe  wagged  his  tail  and  shook  his  head  as  the 
men  came  up,  and  said  in  expressive  dog-language, 
"  See  here,  now  !  didn't  I  tell  you  so !  " 

The  disturbed  and  blood-stained  snow  around 
showed  that  the  deer  had  fought  bravely.  One  of 
his  legs  was  somewhat  broken  in  the  bloody  con 
flict,  which  incident  might  have  determined  Barbe's 
victory. 

The  men  skinned  the  deer,  and  bore  the  skin 
and  dissected  parts  to  the  vessel. 


Cunning  Hunters.  317 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

CUNNING  HUNTERS. 

OUR  sketch  of  Mr.  Hall's  Esquimo  life  brings 
us  to  the  early  summer  of  1861.  He  had 
made  many  excursions  in  and  about  Frobisher 
and  Field  Bays  which  we  have  not  noted.  Their 
results  were  mainly  valuable  for  the  relics  obtained 
of  the  visits  here  of  the  famous  old  explorer  Fro 
bisher,  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago.  There 
were,  too,  he  ascertained,  traditions  among  the 
natives  of  these  visits,  as  well  as  that  of  Parry, 
nearly  fifty  years  before,  which  so  well  accorded 
with. the  known  facts  as  to  show  the  reliability  of 
such  traditions. 

An  incident  occurred  during  one  of  these  ex 
cursions  which  illustrates  the  deceitful  effect  of 
refraction  in  the  northern  atmosphere.  He  landed 
on  a  headland  in  Frobisher  Bay,  and  secured  an 
enchanting  view  of  land  and  sea.  Points  of  his 
toric  interest  Were  under  his  eye,  and  nature  was 
clothed  with  a  wild  Arctic  beauty.  But  an  ob 
ject  of  still  more  thrilling  interest  comes  in  view. 
A  steamer !  Yes,  there  is  her  hull  and  smoke- 
pipe,  all  very  unmistakable  !  See,  she  tacks,  now 
.this  way,  then  that,  working  her  way  no  doubt  to 
ward  the  land  on  which  he  stands. 

Mr.  Hall   ran   to  the  camp,  and  told  the  good 


318  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

news  to  Koojesse  and  Ebierbing,  his  companions. 
His  mind  was  fairly  bewitched  with  visions  of 
news  from  civilization,  from  his  country,  and  per 
haps  letters  from  his  dear  ones  of  the  family  circle. 
Each  shouldered  his  loaded  gun,  and  walked 
round  to  the  point  on  the  shore  toward  which  the 
steamer  was  coming.  They  would  make  a  loud 
report  with  their  guns,  and  compel  those  on  board 
to  notice  them.  When  they  reached  the  spot 
there  was  no  steamer.  The  Esquimo  looked  with 
blank  amazement,  and  turned  inquiringly  toward 
Mr.  Hall.  Had  she  sailed  away  ?  No,  that  was 
impossible.  It  was  only  that  rock  yonder,  half 
buried  in  snow!  There,  it  does  e^$n  now  look 
like  a  steamer!  Wait  a  while.  No,  it- no  more 
looks  like  a  steamer  than  it  looks  like  a  cow !  It 
is  a  cruel  "  sell !  " 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  "  George  Henry  " 
had  made  her  winter-quarters  in  a  little  nook  in 
Field  Bay  called  Rescue  Harbor.  From  his 
home  in  her  cabin  Mr.  Hall  was  going  forth  on  his 
explorations.  But  the  whalers  had  made  a  "  whal 
ing  depot  "  on  a  cape  of  Frobisher  Bay,  which 
commanded  a  view  of  its  waters  and  of  the  waters 
of  Davis  Strait.  Here  they  watched  for  whales,  or 
made  excursions  after  them.  To  this  depot  Mr. 
Hall  made  an  excursion  with  Koojesse  about  the 
middle  of  June.  On  their  way  over  the  ice,  Koo 
jesse  gave  illustrations  of  two  Esquimo  methods  of 
taking  seal  that  were  very  peculiar.  The  dogs 
scented  the  seal  and  broke  into  a  furious  run,  mak 
ing  the  sledge  "  spin  "  over  the  ice.  Soon  Koo- 


Cunning  Hunters,  319 

jesse  perceived  him  lying  with  his  head  near  his 
hole.  On  the  instant  the  dogs  and  their  driver  set 
up  a  vociferous,  startling  yell.  The  seal  lifted  up  his 
head,  frightened  almost  out  of  his  wits,  so  that  the 
dogs  were  within  a  few  rods  of  him  before  he  so 
far  recovered  his  senses  as  to  plunge  into  his  hole 
and  escape. 

Koojesse  said  that  only  young  seals  are  so 
caught.  In  this  case  fright  had  nearly  cost  the 
poor  seal  his  life. 

At  another  time  Koojesse  saw  a  seal  sunning 
himself,  and  lying,  as  is  their  habit,  near  his  hole. 
The  hunter  stopped  the  sledge,  took  his  gun,  and, 
keeping  back  the  dogs,  lay  down  and  drew  him 
self  along  upon  his  breast,  making  at  the  same 
time  a  peculiar,  plaintive  sound,  varied  in  intona 
tion.  To  this  "seal  talk,"  as  the  Esquimo  term  it, 
the  animal  listens,  and  is  charmed  into  a  pleasant 
persuasion  that  some  loving  friend  is  near.  He 
looks,  listens,  and  then  lays  his  head  languidly  upon 
the  ice.  So  the  wily  hunter  approaches  within 
easy  range,  the  rifle  cracks,  and  the  fatal  ball  goes 
through  the  vitals  of  the  confiding  seal.  Thus 
seals,  like  men,  sometimes  die  of  alarm,  and  are 
sometimes  taken  in  the  flatterer's  snare. 

Mr.  Hall  found  the  whale  depot  a  busy  place. 
Numerous  tents  of  the  white  men  and  Esquimo 
were  grouped  together,  in  the  midst  of  which,  on 
a  substantial  flag-staff,  the  stars  and  stripes  were 
waving.  The  Esquimo  and  dogs  proclaimed  their 
welcome  in  their  peculiar  way,  and  the  officers 
and  crew  made  the  visitor  feel  at  home. 


32O  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 

The  question  soon  discussed  concerned  a  boat 
for  Mr.  Hall's  journey  to  King  William's  Land. 
Captain  Buddington  said  seriously  that  the  ques 
tion  had  been  much  on  his  mind,  and  had  been 
anxiously  considered,  and  his  painful  conclusion 
was  that  he  had  no  whale-boat  adequate  for  the 
undertaking.  The  boat  made  on  purpose  for  that 
service,  which  had  been  lost  when  the  "  Rescue  " 
was  wrecked,  was  the  only  one  brought  into  those 
waters  which  could  convey  him  safely.  To  go  in 
any  other  would  be  to  throw  away  his  life.  So 
Mr.  Hall  said  heroically  :  "  I  will  make  the  best  of 
my  stay  here,  in  explorations  and  study  of  the  Es- 
quimo  traits  and  language.  Do  you  return  to  the 
States,  get  another  suitable  boat,  and,  God  will 
ing,  I  will  yet  go  to  King  William's  Land." 

Touching  incidents  of  Innuit  life  were  constant 
ly  passing  before  Mr.  Hall.  Here  is  one.  There 
was  a  young  man,  Etu,  about  twenty-five  years  of 
age,  whom  our  old  acquaintance,  Ugarng,  had 
taken  into  his  favor.  Etu  had  the  misfortune  to 
be  born  spotted  all  over  his  body,  precisely  like 
the  snow-white  and  black  spotting  of  the  skin  of 
one  species  of  seal.  His  heathen  parents  seemed 
on  this  account  to  have  loathed  their  child,  for, 
after  enduring  his  presence  a  few  years  in  the 
family,  the  father  carried  him  to  an  unfrequented 
barren  island  to  die.  But  God,  who  cared  for  the 
child  Ishmael  and  the  little  Moses,  watched  over 
Etu.  He  caught  the  sea-birds  which  flocked  to  the 
land  with  his  hands — an  extraordinary  exploit.  The 
summer  thus  passed  and  winter  came,  and  the 


Cunning  Hunters.  321 

boy  yet  lived.  It  so  happened — shall  we  not  the 
rather  say,  God  so  ordered — that  a  kayak  of  na 
tives  rowed  that  way.  They  were  surprised  when 
they  saw  a  boy  alone  on  a  drear  island,  and  the 
child  was  frightened  at  their  presence.  But  when 
they  made  friendly  signs  he  rushed  into  their 
arms. 

The  boy  returned  to  his  people,  but  being 
shunned  and  slighted  he  became  discouraged  and 
indolent.  Such  was  his  situation  when  Ugarng 
took  him  into  his  family.  One  day  Mr.  Hall  entered 
the  tent  of  Ebierbing  and  found  there  a  girl  thir 
teen  years  of  age,  Ookoodlear,  weeping  as  though 
her  heart  would  break.  She  also  was  of  Ugarng's 
family,  but  had  been  staying  with  the  kind  Tooko- 
lito,  wife  of  Ebierbing.  Her  trouble  was  that 
Ugarng  was  coming  to  take  her  away  and  make 
her  the  wife  of  Etu  !  Marry  a  seal-spotted  man  ! 
the  thought  was  awful !  Then,  she  was  so  young ! 

Ebierbing  took  with  him  a  friend,  and  called 
upon  Etu  and  told  him  the  dislike  felt  toward  him 
of  the  girl.  Poor  Etu  !  Then  Tookoolito  agreed 
with  Ugarng  to  take  charge  of  Ookoodlear,  so  the 
marriage  was  prevented. 

Marriage  contracts  among  the  Esquimo  are  made 
by  the  parents  or  other  friends,  often  in  the  child 
hood  of  the  parties.  Those  immediately  con 
cerned  seldom  have  any  thing  to  do  or  say  in  the 
matter.  Among  the  Esquimo  of  Whale  Sound  the 
proposed  bridegroom  was  sometimes  required  to 
be  able  to  carry  off  to  his  igloo,  in  spite  of  herself, 
his  intended  bride.  The  resistance  in  such  cases 


322  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

on  the  part  of  the  woman  is  supposed  to  depend 
upon  circumstances. 

There  is  no  marriage  ceremony.  In  these  Esqui- 
mo  communities  the  two  great  events,  marriage  and 
death,  transpire  without  special  note.  Among  the 
natives  of  the  region  we  are  now  visiting  the  new 
born  child  generally  first  sees  the  light  alone  with 
its  mother,  and  in  an  igloo  built  expressly  for  her. 
Late  in  July  the  ice  broke  up  and  liberated  the 
"  George  Henry  "  from  her  icy  prison.  The  sail 
ors  returned  on  board,  and  she  sailed  away  on  a 
whaling  cruise.  Mr.  Hall  was  left  alone  with  his 
Innuit  friends.  He  had  planned  a  voyage  of  ex 
ploration  in  his  whale-boat  with  a  crew  of  them, 
to  be  absent  about  two  months.  On  his  return,  if 
he  found  the  whalers  in  those  regions  he  would 
go  to  the  States  in  one  of  them  ;  if  not,  he  would 
remain  in  Esquimo  life  until  their  return. 

Ebierbing  and  Tookoolito  were  of  course  to  be 
of  his  party.  But  Ebierbing  was  taken  seriously 
sick  and  so  was  prevented  from  accompanying  him, 
much  to  his  regret.  His  crew,  as  finally  selected, 
were  Koojesse  and  wife,  Charley  (his  Esquimo 
name  is  too  long  to  write)  and  his  wife,  Koodloo, 
and  a  widow,  Suzhi,  remarkable  for  her  great  size 
and  strength,  weighing  two  hundred, 

The  party  were  off  the  ninth  of  August.  They 
passed  through  Lupton  Channel,  a  narrow  run  of 
water  connecting  Field  Bay  with  Frobisher  Bay. 
A  white  whale  preceded  them,  leisurely  keeping 
the  lead,  as  if  conscious  that  there  were  no  har 
poons  in  the  boat ;  perhaps  he  assumed  his  safety 


Cunning  Hunters.  323 

from  the  presence  of  the  women.  The  sea-fowl 
were  abundant.  The  Esquimo,  to  save  ammuni 
tion,  adopted  one  of  their  own  amusing  yet  cruel 
ways  of  capturing  them.  They  rowed  softly  and 
swiftly  to  a  cluster  of  them  in  the  water.  Just  as 
the  birds  were  about  to  fly  the  whole  crew  set  up 
a  most  terrific  yell,  at  the  same  time  stamping  and 
throwing  their  arms  about  with  wild  gesticulations. 
Down  go  the  frightened  birds,  diving,  instead  of 
flying,  to  escape  the  enemy.  The  crew  now  seize 
their  oars,  and  the  steerer  guides  the  boat  by  the 
disturbed  surface  of  the  water  to  the  spot  where 
they  come  up.  The  moment  they  show  their 
heads  the  uproar  is  renewed.  Down  go  the  birds 
again  without  taking  breath.  This  course,  though 
exciting  sport  to  the  hunters,  is  soon  death 
to  the  poor  birds,  which,  exhausted  and  finally 
drowned,  are  picked  from  the  surface  of  the  water. 
One  of  the  ducks  taken  in  this  way  was  a  mother 
with  a  fledgeling.  As  the  parent  gasped  in  its 
dying  agony,  the  child  would  put  its  little  bill  in 
her  mouth  for  food,  and  then  nestle  down  under 
her  for  protection. 

The  explorers  having  entered  Frobisher  Bay, 
sailed  west  along  its  northern  shore.  They  camped 
at  night  on  the  land,  and  made  slow  progress  by 
day.  The  Esquimo  were  in  no  hurry,  while  Mr. 
Hall  would  make  good  time  to  the  extreme  west 
of  the  bay  and  survey  that  line  of  coast,  as  the 
waters  had  hitherto  been  deemed  a  strait.  But 
his  free  and  easy  companions  were  more  disposed 
to  have  a  good  time  than  to  add  to  geographical 


324  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

knowledge.  At  one  time  Koojesse,  taking  up 
Mr.  Hall's  glass,  saw  a  bear  some  miles  away  on  an 
island.  Fresh  duck  was  plenty  on  board,  and  a 
chase  after  "  ninoo "  at  the  expense  of  time  was 
unnecessary.  But  it  would  be  fun ;  that  settled 
the  matter.  Away  sped  the  rickety  old  whale-boat, 
impelled  by  strong  hands.  Bruin  soon  snuffed  the 
strangers,  stood  and  looked,  then  comprehending 
the  danger,  turned  and  ran  over  to  the  other  side 
of  the  island.  Soon  the  boat  was  in  sight  of  him, 
and  he  plunged  into  the  water.  The  Esquimo 
now  adopted  a  part  of  the  game  they  had  played 
so  successfully  on  the  ducks.  They  occasionally 
made  a  sudden  and  deafening  uproar.  Ninoo 
would  stop  and  turn  round  to  see  what  was  the 
matter,  and  so  time  was  gained  by  his  pursuers. 
But  he  made  good  speed  for  the  main  land,  and 
after  a  while  began  so  far  to  comprehend  the  situ 
ation  that  no  noise  arrested  his  course.  On  he 
went  for  dear  life.  The  balls  soon  reached  him  and 
dyed  his  coat  in  crimson,  yet  he  halted  not  un 
til  one  struck  his  head.  This  enraged  him  ;  he 
deemed  the  play  decidedly  foul.  He  turned, 
showed  his  teeth,  and  this  brought  the  boat  to  a 
stand-still.  The  hunters  did  not  care  for  a  hand- 
to-paw  fight.  The  rifle  settled  the  unequal  con 
flict,  and  ninoo's  body  was  towed  ashore. 

The  bladder  of  the  bear  was  inflated,  and  with 
some  other  charms,  put  on  a  staff  to  be  elevated  on 
the  top  of  the  tupic  when  the  party  encamped,  and 
in  the  bow  of  the  boat  when  sailing.  This  insured 
good  luck  according  to  Esquimo  notions. 


Cunning  Hunters.  325 

The  explorers  were,  while  in  camp  at  one  time, 
in  want  of  oil  for  their  lamp.  Koodloo  found 
some  strips  of  sea-blubber  and  carried  it  to  Suzhi, 
who  was  "  in  tuktoo  " — that  is,  in  bed.  She  sat 
up,  rested  upon  her  elbows,  put  a  dish  before  her, 
took  the  blubber,  bit  off  pieces,  chewed  it  and 
sucked  the  oil  out,  and  then  spirted  it  out  into  the 
dish.  In  this  way  she  "  milled  "  oil  enough  to  fill 
two  large  lamps.  This  done  she  lay  down  again 
and  slept,  with  unwashen  hands  and  face.  There 
were  no  white  sheets  to  be  soiled. 
21 


326  NORTH-POLE    VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

ROUND      FROBISHER      BAY. 

THE  explorers  found  occasionally  during  their 
voyage  encampments  of  natives.  In  these 
many  incidents  occurred  illustrating  Esquimo  hab 
its.  At  one  place  the  women  were  busily  employed 
on  seal- skins,  making  women's  boots.  One  of 
them  was  diligently  sewing  while  her  big  boy  stood 
at  her  breast  nursing ! 

Before  reaching  the  head  of  the  bay  Mr.  Hall's 
party  was  joined  by  a  boat  load  of  Esquimo,  and 
several  women  canoes.  A  beautiful  river  emptied 
into  the  bay  here  which  abounded  wTith  salmon, 
which  proved  most  excellent  eating.  Vegetation 
was  abundant.  The  women  brought  Mr.  Hall  a 
good  supply  of  berries,  resembling,  in  size  and 
color,  blueberries.  They  were  deemed  a  great 
luxury.  Wolves  barked  and  howled  about  the 
camp.  The  aurora  danced  and  raced  across  the 
heavens  in  strange  grandeur.  The  deer  roamed 
about  the  rocky  coast  undisturbed  except  by  the 
occasional  visits  of  the  Innuits. 

Mr.  Hall,  having  pretty  thoroughly  explored 
the  head  of  the  bay,  purposed  to  return  on  the 
side  opposite  that  on  which  he  came.  Here  were 
hills  covered  with  snow.  It  had  no  attractions  for 
his  Esquimo  companions,  and  they  muttered  th'eir 


Round  Frobisher  Bay.  327 

discontent  at  the  route.  Ascending  one  of  these 
hills,  Mr.  Hall  planted  on  it,  with  much  enthusi 
asm,  a  flag-staff  from  which  floated  the  stripes  and 
stars.  On  returning  to  the  encampment  he  found 
his  tent  occupied  by  several  Esquimo  busily 
engaged  in  various  items  of  work.  One  of  the 
women  having  done  him  a  favor  he  gave  her  some 
beads,  asking  her  at  the  same  time  what  she  had 
done  with  those  he  had  given  her  on  a  former  oc 
casion.  She  said  she  had  given  them  to  the  Ange- 
kok  for  his  services  in  her  sickness.  Mr.  Hall 
went  to  a  tin  box  and  took  out  a  copy  of  the  Bible 
and  held  it  up  before  the  woman,  saying,  "  This 
talks  to  me  of  heaven  !  "  Instantly,  as  though  a 
light  from  heaven  had  flashed  upon  them  all,  both 
men  and  women  left  their  work,  and  springing  to 
their  feet  looked  at  Mr.  Hall.  At  first  they  seemed 
terrified ;  then  a  smile  of  joy  came  over  their 
faces,  and  they  said,  "  Tell  us  what  it  talks  of 
heaven." 

As  well  as  he  was  able,  with  but  a  slight  knowl 
edge  of  their  language,  he  unfolded  to  them  the 
great  truths  of  Revelation.  When  he  paused  one 
of  his  hearers  pointed  downward,  inquiring  if  it 
talked  of  the  grave,  or  perhaps  meaning  the  place 
of  the  wicked.  When  he  answered  "Yes,"  they 
looked  at  each  other  with  solemnity  and  surprise. 

But  an  incident  which  occurred  soon  after 
showed  that  these  Esquimo  did  not  feel  the  pres 
ence  of  eternal  things.  A  white  whale  had  been 
seen  and  chased  by  the  men  and  women.  He 
escaped,  and  the  men  returned  in  bad  humor. 


328  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

As  one  of  the  women  was  helping  to  unload  the 
boat  her  husband  threw  a  seal-hook  at  her  with 
great  force.  She  parried  the  blow,  and  it  caught 
in  her  jacket.  She  calmly  removed  it,  and  con 
tinued  at  her  work  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

Esquimo  men  are  generally  the  mildest,  if  not 
the  most  affectionate,  of  savages  in  their  rela 
tion  of  husbands ;  yet  in  their  fits  of  passion  they 
throw  any  thing  that  is  at  hand  at  their  wives,  a 
hatchet,  stone,  knife,  or  spear,  as  they  would  at  a 
dog. 

At  one  time  the  Esquimo  men  all  left  Mr.  Hall's 
boat  on  a  hunt.  He  continued  his  voyage  with 
the  three  women  rowers.  The  boat  was  pleasantly 
gliding  along,  when  in  passing  an  island  it  fell  into 
a  current  which  rushed  over  a  bed  of  slightly  cov 
ered  rocks  with  the  rapidity  of  a  mill-race,  seething 
and  whirling  in  its  course.  The  women,  though 
frightened,  rowed  with  great  vigor,  Suzhi  showing 
herself  more  than  an  ordinary  man  in  the  emer 
gency.  For  some  time  the  struggle  was  fearful 
and  uncertain.  To  go  with  the  current  was  cer 
tain  death;  to  gel  out  of  it  seemed  impossible. 
At  last  slowly,  steadily,  they  gained  on  the  rushing 
current,  and  then  the  boat  shot  into  a  little  cove 
in  tranquil  waters.  They  landed  and  rested  six 
hours. 

Mr.  Hall  had  now,  September  twelfth,  been  out 
thirty-five  days,  and  he  determined  to  return  to 
Rescue  Harbor,  hoping  to  find  that  the  "  George 
Henry  "  had  returned  from  her  whaling  trip.  This 
pleased  the  Esquimo,  but  they  did  not  like  his 


Round  Frabisher  Bay.  329 

south-side  route.  Koojesse  would,  in  spite  of  Mr. 
Hall,  steer  the  boat  toward  the  opposite  side,  and 
the  rowers  enjoyed  the  joke.  At  one  time  our 
explorer  wished  to  stop  and  make  further  exami 
nation  of  a  certain  locality,  but  Koojesse  was  head 
ing  the  boat  northward.  His  captain  urged  him 
to  stop,  and  he  replied  with  savage  sharpness, 
"You  stop;  I  go!"  Even  the  women  rowers 
when  alone  with  Mr.  Hall  set  up  an  independent 
authority  at  one  time,  and  it  was  only  after  con 
siderable  urging  that  they  yielded  to  the  white 
man.  Once  when  Koojesse  was  acting  contrary 
to  orders,  Mr.  Hall  turned  upon  him  with  tones 
of  authority  and  a  show  of  determination.  He 
yielded,  and  five  minutes  afterward  the  whole 
Esquimo  crew  were  as  jovial  as  if  nothing  had 
occurred.  Yet  it  was  not  quite  certain  that  this 
was  a  safe  course.  The  life  of  the  lone  white  man 
was  in  their  hands. 

During  this  voyage  Mr.  Hall  was  treated  with 
out  stint  to  the  delights  of  one  Esquimo  practice. 
We  have  spoken  of  the  wild  songs  of  their  incanta 
tions,  rising  often  into  a  dismal  howl.  One  of  the 
crew,  a  woman,  had  a  gift  in  this  way,  and  when 
she  ankooted  the  rest  accompanied,  or  came  in  on 
the  chorus.  In  this  way  they  often  made  the 
night  of  their  encampment  hideous.  One  day  the 
boat  was  gliding  smoothly  along  under  the  steady 
strokes  of  the  rowers.  The  unemployed  were 
nestling  down  in  their  furs,  dreamily  musing,  while 
the  dreary  expanse  of  sky  and  sea  was  profoundly 
still,  save  the  distant  screech  of  the  sea-fowl,  and 


330  NORTH-POL'E  VOYAGES. 

the  occasional  bark  of  the  seal.  Suddenly  the 
female  enchanter  commenced  her  mystical  song. 
Her  voice  was  shrill  as  a  night-bird's,  and  varied  by 
sharp  and  sudden  cracks,  like  fourth-of-July  fire 
crackers.  The  Esquimo  crew  came  in  on  the 
chorus,  and  the  rowers  put  forth  at  the  same  time  a 
frantic  energy,  their  eyes  glaring  and  countenances 
fearfully  distorted.  The  whole  scene  was  intensely 
demoniac.  The  enchanters  seemed  intoxicated 
with  their  bowlings,  and  continued  them  through 
the  night  and  most  of  the  two  following  days. 

Only  one  incident  more  of  a  noticeable  character 
occurred  on  this  excursion.  When  one  of  their 
nightly  encampments  had  just  commenced  a  gold 
fever  seized  the  Esquirno,  and  shook  the  little  com 
munity  as  if  they  had  been  white  folks.  A  huge 
lump  of  gold  had  been  found  !  It  was  precisely  the 
article  for  which  the  sovereign  of  England  and  her 
savans  had  sent  here,  three  hundred  years  before, 
the  sturdy  Frobisher,  with  a  fleet  of  empty  ships. 
It  was  emphatically  fool's  gold. 

Friday,  September  twenty-seventh,  1861,  the  ex 
plorers  arrived  at  Rescue  Harbor.  The  "  George 
Henry  "  was  already  there.  Her  energetic  officers 
and  crew  had  toiled  through  all  the  season  and 
taken  nothing  !  The  explorer  and  the  ship's  com 
mander,  after  a  warm  supper,  sat  in  the  cabin  talk 
ing  over  the  incidents  of  their  experience  while 
separated  until  a  late  hour  of  the  night.  The 
whole  community  were  jubilant  at  their  return, 
as  fears  were  indulged  that  the  crazy  craft  had 
sunk  with  all  its  occupants. 


Round  Frobisher  Bay.  331 

Mr.  Hall  was  not  long  in  finding  the  tupic  of 
his  friends,  Ebierbing  and  wife.  When  the  wife  of 
Tookoolito  saw  him  she  buried  her  face  in  her 
hands  and  burst  into  tears  so  great  was  her  joy. 
While  chatting  with  them,  Mr.  Hall  heard  the 
plaintive  sound  of  an  infant  voice.  Turning  back 
the  folds  of  Tookoolito's  fur  wrapper  a  little 
boy  was  seen  only  twenty-four  days  old,  an  only 
child. 

October  twentieth  came,  and  the  whalers  had 
secured  three  whales  —  an  encouraging  success 
after  a  long  failure.  But  her  captain  had  not  in 
tended  to  stay  another  winter.  His  time  was  out, 
and  so,  nearly,  were  his  provisions.  Bat  while 
Rescue  Harbor  was  yet  clear  of  ice,  and  he  was 
getting  ready  to  return,  purposing  to  take  with 
him  the  still  enthusiastic  explorer,  the  heavy 
"  pack/'  was  outside  of  the  harbor  in  Davis  Strait. 
It  had  come,  an  untimely,  unwelcome  voyager  from 
the  north.  While  the  anxious  whalemen  were 
looking  for  a  "  lead  "  to  open  and  permit  them  to 
sail  homeward  the  Frosty  King  of  the  north 
waved  his  icy  scepter,  and  Davis  Strait  was  as  un- 
navigable  as  the  solid  land.  Another  winter  was 
spent  in  Rescue  Harbor,  and  it  was  not  until  early 
in  August,  1862,  that  the  vessel  was  set  free  and 
spread  her  sails  for  home.  This  year,  too,  was  dil 
igently  improved  by  Mr.  Hall  in  explorations  and 
the  further  study  of  the  Esquimo  language  and 
character.  He  confidently  expected  to  return, 
after  a  short  stay  in  the  United  States,  and  carry 
out  his  proposed  plan  of  explorations  in  King  Will- 


332  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

iam's  Land.  He  took  home  with  him  Ebierbing 
and  Tookoolito,  with  their  infant  boy,  Tuk-e-lik- 
e-ta.  The  dog  Barbekark  made  one  of  the  return 
ing  party. 

They  arrived  in  New  London  September  thir 
teenth,  1862,  after  an  absence  of  two  years  and 
three  and  a  half  months. 


The  "Polaris"  333 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE  "POLARIS." 

WE  have  seen  that  Mr.  Hall's  enthusiasm  for 
arctic  research  was  unabated  when  he  re 
turned  from  his  first  adventure.  In  1864  he  was 
off  again.  He  sailed  from  New  London  in  the 
whaler  "  Monticello,"  accompanied  by  his  Esquimo 
friends,  Ebierbing  and  Tookoolito.  The  "  Monti- 
cello  "  entered  Hudson  Bay,  landed  the  daring  ex 
plorers  on  its  northern  shores,  and  left  them  to  their 
fortunes.  From  thence  they  made  the  long,  dreary 
journey  to  King  William's  Land,  where  the  relics 
of  Franklin's  party  had  been  found,  some  of  whom 
Hail  hoped  to  find  alive.  For  five  years  he  lived 
an  Esquimo  life,  experiencing  many  thrilling  ad 
ventures,  and  escaping  many  imminent  dangers. 
At  one  time  he  saved  his  own  life  only  by  shoot 
ing  an  assailant  who  was  leading  against  him  a 
party  who  had  conspired  to  murder  him.  The  re 
sult  of  his  long  sojourn  in  this  region  of  cold  was  a 
store  of  knowledge  of  the  Esquimo  habits  and 
language,  but  nothing  important  relating  to  the 
fate  of  the  Franklin  expedition.  Many  sad  con 
firmations  were  indeed  found  of  the  fact  before 
generally  accepted,  that  they  had  all  miserably 
perished. 

On  his  return,  Mr.  Hall,  nothing  daunted    by 


334  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

hardships  and  failures,  commenced  writing  and 
lecturing  on  the  theory  of  an  open  Polar  Sea.  As 
he  had  done  before,  so  now  he  succeeded  in  im 
pressing  not  only  the  popular  mind  but  scientific 
men  and  statesmen  with  the  plausibility  of  his 
theory  and  the  practicability  of  his  plans.  An 
other  North  Pole  expedition  was  proposed ;  Con 
gress  appropriated  to  it  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and 
Mr.  Hall  was  appointed  its  commander.  A  craft  of 
about  four  hundred  tons,  being  larger  than  either 
of  its  predecessors  on  the  same  errand,  was  selected, 
and  named  the  "  Polaris."  She  was  a  screw-pro 
peller,  and  rigged  as  a  fore-topsail  schooner.  Her 
sides  were  covered  with  a  six-inch  white  oak  plank 
ing,  nearly  doubling  their  strength.  Her  bows 
were  nearly  solid  white  oak,  made  sharp,  and 
sheathed  with  iron.  One  of  her  boilers  was  fitted 
for  the  use  of  whale  or  seal  oil,  by  which  steam 
could  be  raised  if  the  coal  was  exhausted.  She 
was  supplied  with  five  extraordinary  boats.  One 
of  these  must  have  been  the  last  Yankee  invention 
in  the  boat  line.  It  is  represented  as  having  a 
capacity  to  carry  twenty-five  men,  yet  weighing 
only  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds;  when  not  in 
use  it  could  be  folded  up  and  packed  snugly  away. 
The  "  Polaris "  was,  of  course,  amply  equipped 
and  ably  manned,  and  great  and  useful  results 
were  expected  from  her.  President  Grant  is  said 
to  have  entered  with  interest  into  this  enterprise 
of  Captain  Hall,  and  the  nation  said,  "  God  bless 
him  and  his  perilous  undertaking  !  "  though  many 
doubted  the  wisdom  of  any  more  Arctic  expedi- 


The  "  Polaris r  335 

tions.  A  few  days  before  his  departure  Mr.  Hall 
received  from  the  hand  of  his  friend,  Henry  Grin- 
nell,  a  flag  of  historic  note.  It  had  fluttered  in 
the  wind  near  the  South  Pole  with  Lieutenant 
Wilkes,  in  1838;  had  been  borne  by  De  Haven 
far  northward ;  it  had  gone  beyond  De  Haven's 
highest  in  the  Kane  voyage,  and  was  planted  still 
farther  North  Poleward  by  Hayes.  "  I  believe," 
exclaimed  Captain  Hall,  on  receiving  it,  "that  this 
flag,  in  the  spring  of  1872,  will  float  over  a  new 
world,  in  which  the  North  Pole  star  is  its  crown 
ing  jewel." 

The  "Polaris"  left  New  York  June  29,  1871, 
tarried  for  a  few  days  at  New  London,  and  was 
last  heard  from  as  she  was  ready  to  steam  north 
ward,  the  last  of  August,  from  Tussuissak,  the 
most  northern  of  the  Greenland  outposts.  At 
this  place  Captain  Hall  met  our  old  acquaintance, 
Jensen,  of  the  Hayes  expedition.  He  was  flour 
ishing  as  "governor"  of  a  few  humble  huts  occu 
pied  by  a  few  humbler  people,  and  he  put  on 
consequential  airs  in  the  presence  of  his  white 
brother.  He  would  not  be  a  dog-driver  again  to 
an  Arctic  exploration — not  he  !  Hall  says  he  had 
"a  face  of  brass  in  charging  for  his  dogs."  But 
the  full  complement  of  sixty  was  made  up  here, 
and  his  stock  of  furs  was  increased. 

As  our  voyagers  are  now  about  to  enter  upon 
the  terribly  earnest  conflicts  of  North  Pole  ex 
plorers,  and  as  their  complement  of  men  and 
women  are  complete,  we  will  further  introduce 
them  to  our  readers. 


336  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

The  commander,  Hall,  they  know ;  he  is  well- 
proportioned,  muscular,  of  medium  height,  quiet, 
but  completely  enthusiastic  in  his  chosen  line  of 
duty,  believing  thoroughly  in  himself  and  his  en 
terprise,  yet  believing  well  too  easily  of  others, 
especially  of  the  rough  men  of  his  command,  some 
of  whom  have  grown  up  under  the  harsh  discipline 
of  the  whale-ship  or  the  naval  service.  The  next 
in  command  is  the  sailing-master,  Captain  S.  O. 
Buddington  of  our  last  narrative.  Captain  Tyson, 
commissioned  as  assistant  navigator  to  the  expe 
dition,  has  been  introduced  to  the  reader  at  Fro- 
bisher  Bay,  while  in  command  there  of  a  whale- 
ship.  We  shall  have  occasion  to  become  very  inti 
mate  with  him.  Here  is  our  old  acquaintance, 
William  Morton,  whom  we  knew  so  favorably  by 
his  heroic  deeds  in  the  Dr.  Kane  expedition ;  he 
is  second  mate  now. 

Of  course,  Captain  Hall's  old  friends  of  his  first 
and  second  Arctic  experience,  Ebierbing  and 
Tookoolito,  his  wife,  are  here.  They  are  now 
known  as  Joe  and  Hannah,  and  although  it  does 
some  violence  to  our  taste  to  drop  their  Esquimo 
names,  we  will  conform  to  the  usage  about  us,  and 
know  them  in  this  narrative  by  these  English 
names.  They  are  accompanied  by  an  adopted 
daughter  from  among  their  people,  about  ten  years 
old,  whom  they  call  Puney. 

And  here,  too,  is  our  old  friend  Hans,  taken  on 
board  at  Upernavik.  Having  been  with  Kane  and 
Hayes,  nothing  daunted  by  the  perils  of  their 
voyages,  he  is  here  to  see,  if  possible,  with  Hall, 


Captain   Buddington. 


The  ^Polaris."  339 

the  North  Pole,  though  no  doubt  thinking  much 
more  of  his  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  as  hunter 
and  dog-driver  than  of  the  desired  discoveries. 
His  wife  and  their  three  children  are  with  him,  for, 
like  a  good  husband  and  father,  he  would  not  be 
separated  from  his  family.  The  children  are  Au- 
gustina,  a  girl  about  thirteen  years,  heavy  built, 
and  most  as  large  as  her  mother ;  Tobias,  a  boy 
of  perhaps  eight,  and  a  little  girl,  Succi,  of  four 
years.  Think  of  such  a  group  daring  the  known 
and  unknown  perils  of  Arctic  ice  and  cold  ! 

With  the  rest  of  the  ship's  company  we  shall 
form  acquaintance  as  our  narrative  progresses. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  August  the  "  Polaris  " 
left  Tussuissak,  and  fairly  began  her  Arctic  fight 
in  the  ice,  current,  and  wind  encounters  of  Mel 
ville  Bay.  But  on  she  steamed,  passing  in  a  few 
days  through  the  Bay  into  the  North  Water,  into 
Smith  Sound,  passing  Hayes's  winter-quarters,  yet 
steaming  on  by  Dr.  Kane's  winter-quarters,  not 
even  pausing  to  salute  our  old  friends  Kalutunah 
and  Myouk,  sailing  up  the  west  side  of  Kennedy 
Channel,  the  scene  of  Dr.  Hayes's  conflicts  and 
heroic  achievements,  the  "  Polaris  "  finally  brings 
up  in  the  ice  barriers  of  north  latitude  82°  16'. 
The  highest  points  of  previous  voyages  in  this 
direction  are  far  south.  That  new  world  of  which 
the  North  Pole  star  is  "the  crowning  jewel,"  is 
less  than  six  hundred  miles  farther.  If  that  open 
sea  located  in  this  latitude  by.  confident  explorers 
was  only  a  fact,  how  easily  and  how  soon  would 
the  brave  "  Polaris  "  be  there  !  But  the  ice-floe, 


340  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

strong  and  defiant,  and  the  southern  current,  were 
facts,  and  the  open  sea  nowhere  visible.  The 
"Polaris  "  was  taken  in  hand  by  the  ice  and  cur 
rent  in  the  historic,  Arctic  fashion,  and  set  back 
about  fifty  miles.  The  Ice  King  had  said,  "  Thus 
far  and  no  farther,"  and  pointed  with  his  frosty 
fingers  southward. 

The  "  Polaris  "  early  in  September  was  glad  to 
steam  in  under  the  land,  anchor  to  an  ice-berg, 
and  make  her  winter-quarters.  Captain  Hall 
called  the  harbor  "  Thank-God  Harbor,"  and  the 
friendly  anchorage  "Providence  Berg."  He  had 
a  right  here  now,  for  a  little  farther  north,  at  a 
place  he  called  "  Repulse  Harbor,"  he  went  ashore, 
threw  the  stripes  and  stars  to  the  breeze,  and  took 
possession  of  the  land  "  in  the  name  of  God  and 
the  President  of  the  United  States."  We  shall 
not  expect  to  hear  that  a  territorial  representative 
from  this  land  enters  the  next  Congress.  If  this 
part  of  our  national  domain  has  a  representative 
in  the  life- time  of  our  distinguished  acquaintance, 
Kalutunah,  we  nominate  him  for  the  position,  as 
one  of  the  nearest  known  inhabitants. 

Now  commenced  in  earnest  preparations  for  an 
Arctic  winter.  We  have  seen  how  this  is  done, 
and  Hall  and  some,  at  least,  of  his  officers  knew 
how  to  do  it.  The  hunters  were  abroad  at  once, 
and  an  early  prize  was  a  musk-ox  weighing  three 
hundred  pounds.  His  meat  was  tender  and  good, 
having  no  musky  odor.  This  was  but  the  begin 
ning  of  the  good  gunning  afforded  by  this  far 
northern  region.  Two  seals  were  soon  after  shot. 


The  u  P olaris r  341 

The  country  was  found  to  abound  in  these,  and  in 
geese,  ducks,  rabbits,  wolves,  foxes,  partridges,  and 
bears.  The  scurvy  was  not  likely  to  venture  near 
our  explorers. 

A  pleasant  incident  occurred  on  shipboard 
about  this  time  which  the  reader  will  better  ap 
preciate  as  our  story  progresses.  It  was  Septem 
ber  twenty-fourth.  The  Sabbath  religious  service 
of  the  preceding  day  had  been  conducted  by  Chap 
lain  Bryant  in  his  usual  happy  manner.  At  its 
close  Commander  Hall  made  some  kind,  earnest 
remarks  to  the  men  by  which  their  rough  natures 
were  made  tender,  and  they  sent  a  letter  from  the 
forecastle  to  the  cabin  expressing  to  him  their 
thanks.  To  this  he  replied  in  the  following 
note : — 

"  SIRS  :  The  reception  of  your  letter  of  thanks  to 
me  of  this  date  I  acknowledge  with  a  heart  that 
deeply  feels  and  fully  appreciates  the  kindly  feel 
ing  that  has  prompted  you  to  this  act.  I  need  not 
assure  you  that  your  commander  has,  and  ever  will 
have,  a  lively  interest  in  your  welfare.  You  have 
left  your  homes,  friends,  and  country  ;  indeed,  you 
have  bid  farewell  for  a  time  to  the  whole  civil 
ized  world,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  me  in  dis 
covering  the  mysterious,  hidden  parts  of  the  earth. 
I  therefore  must  and  shall  care  for  you  as  a  pru 
dent  father  cares  for  his  faithful  children." 

October  tenth,  after  careful  preparation,  Captain 
Hall  started  northward  on  an  experiment  in  the 


342  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

way  of   sledging.     He  purposed   more  extended 
sledge  journeys  in  the  spring,  until  the  Pole  itself 
should  be  reached.     He  took  two  sledges,  drawn 
by  seven  dogs  each.    Captain  Hall  and  Joe  accom 
panied  one,  and  Mr.  Chester,  the  mate,  and  Hans, 
the  other.     Their  experience  on  this  trip  was  sim 
ply  of  the  Arctic  kind,  of  which  we  have  seen  so 
much.     Deep  snows,  treacherous  ice,  which  was  in 
a  state  of  change  by  the  action  of  winds  and  cur 
rents,  intense  cold,  and  vexed  and  vicious  dogs, 
all  put  in  their  appearance.     But    Captain   Hall 
says,  "  These  drawbacks  are  nothing  new  to  an 
Arctic  traveler.     We  laugh  at  them,  and  plod  on 
determined  to  execute  the  service  faithfully  to  the 
end."     The  sledge  expedition  was  gone  two  weeks, 
and  traveled   north  fifty  miles.     They  discovered 
a  lake  and  a  river.     They  came  to  the   southern 
cape  of  a  bay  which  they  had  seen  from  the  "  Po 
laris  "  in  her  drift  from   above.     They  named  the 
bay  Newman  Bay,  and  attached  Senator  Sumner's 
name  to  the  cape.     From   the  top   of  an  ice-berg 
they  surveyed  the  bay,  and  believed  it  extended 
inland  thirty  miles.     Crossing  the  mouth   of  the 
bay   they   clambered  up  its  high  northern  cape, 
which  they  called   Brevoort.     Here  they  looked 
westward  over   the  waters   up  which  a  good  dis 
tance  past  this  point  the  "  Polaris  "  had  sailed,  and 
which   they  had  named    Robeson   Strait.      They 
peered    longingly    into    the    misty   distance,    and 
fondly  hoped  to  penetrate  it  with  sledge  or  steamer 
in  the  spring.     Joe,  the  architect  of  the  journey, 
built  here  their  sixth  snow-hut.    It  was  warmer  than 


The  "Polaris"  343 

at  Thank-God  Harbor,  and  birds,  musk-oxen, 
foxes,  and  rabbits,  were  seen,  and  bear  and  wolf 
tracks  were  in  the  vicinity.  Captain  Hall  was 
joyous  at  the  future  prospect.  He  wrote  a  dis 
patch  from  this  high  latitude  in  which  he  says, 
"We  have  all  been  well  up  to  this  time."  A  copy 
of  it  was  placed  in  a  copper  cylinder  and  buried 
under  a  pile  of  stones.  The  party  turned  their 
faces  homeward;  Captain  Hall's  Arctic  explora 
tions  were  ended. 
22 


344  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

DISASTER.     ' 

ABOUT  noon  of  October  twenty-fourth  Cap 
tain  Hall  and  his  party  were  seen  in  the  dis 
tance  approaching  the  ship.  Captain  Tyson,  the 
assistant  navigator,  went  out  to  meet  them.  Not 
even  a  dog  had  been  lost,  and  Captain  Hall  was 
jubilant  over  his  trip  and  the  future  of  the  expe 
dition.  While  he  was  absent  the  work  of  bank 
ing  up  the  "  Polaris  "  with  snow  as  an  increased 
defense  against  the  cold,  the  building  of  a  house 
on  shore  for  the  stores,  and  their  removal  to  it 
from  the  ship,  had  gone  forward  nearly  to  comple 
tion.  He  looked  at  the  work,  greeted  all  cheer 
fully,  and  entered  the  cabin.  He  obtained  water, 
and  washed  and  put  on  clean  underclothes.  The 
steward,  Mr.  Herron,  asked  him  what  he  would 
have  to  eat,  expressing  at  the  same  time  a  wish  to 
get  him  "something  nice."  He  thanked  him,  but 
said  he  wanted  only  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  com 
plained  of  the  heat  of  the  cabin.  He  drank  a 
part  of  the  cup  of  coffee  and  set  it  aside.  Soon 
after  he  complained  of  sickness  at  the  stomach, 
aud  threw  himself  into  his  berth.  Chester,  the 
mate,  and  Morton,  second  mate,  watched  with  him 
all  night,  during  which  he  was  at  times  delirious. 
It  was  thought  he  was  partially  paralyzed.  The 


Disaster.  347 

surgeon,  Dr.  Bessel,  was  in  constant  attendance, 
but  after  temporary  improvement  he  became  wildly 
delirious,  imagining  some  one  had  poisoned  him, 
and  accused  first  one,  then  another.  He  thought 
he  saw  blue  gas  coming  from  the  mouths  of  per 
sons  about  him.  He  refused  clean  stockings  at 
the  hand  of  Chester,  thinking  they  were  poisoned, 
and  he  made  others  taste  the  food  tendered  him 
before  taking  it  himself,  even  that  from  sealed  cans 
opened  in  his  cabin.  During  the  night  of  Novem 
ber  seventh  he  was  clear  in  his  mind,  and  as  Sur 
geon  Bessel  was  putting  him  to  bed  and  tucking 
him  in,  he  said  in  "his  own  kind  tone,  "  Doctor,  you 
have  been  very  kind  to  me,  and  I  am  obliged  to 
you."  Early  in  the  morning  of  November  eighth 
he  died,  and  with  his  death  the  American  North 
Polar  Expedition  was  ended. 

The  grave  of  their  beloved  commander  was  dug 
by  the  men  under  Captain  Tyson,  inland,  south 
east,  about  a  half  mile  from  the  "  Polaris."  The 
frozen  ground  yielded  reluctantly  to  the  picks,  and 
the  grave  was  of  necessity  very  shallow. 

On  the  eleventh  a  mournful  procession  moved 
from  the  "  Polaris  "  to  the  place  of  burial.  Though 
not  quite  noon  it  was  Arctic  night.  A  weird, 
'electric  light  filled  the  air,  through  which  the  stars 
shone  brilliantly.  Captain  Tyson  walked  ahead 
with  a  lantern,  followed  by  Commander  Budding- 
ton  and  his  officers,  and  then  by  the  scientific 
corps,  which  included  the  chaplain,  Mr.  Bryan; 
the  men  followed,  drawing  the  coffin  on  a  sled, 
one  of  their  number  bearing  another  lantern.  The 


348  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

fitting  pall  thrown  over  the  coffin  was  the  Ameri 
can  flag.  Following  the  sled  were  the  Esquimo — 
last  in  the  procession  but  not  the  least  in  the  depth 
and  genuineness  of  their  sorrow.  At  the  grave, 
Tyson  held  the  light  for  the  chaplain  to  read  the 
burial  service.  As  the  solemn,  yet  comforting 
words  were  uttered,  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and 
the  life,  saith  the  Lord,"  all  were  subdued  to  tears. 
Only  from  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  breathing  its 
tender  influence  through  these  words,  was  there 
any  cheerful  inspiration.  The  day  was  cold  and 
dismal,  and  the  wind  howled  mournfully.  Inland 
over  a  narrow  snow-covered  plain,  and  in  the 
shadowy  distance,  were  huge  masses  of  slate-rock, 
the  ghostly  looking  sentinels  of  the  barren  land 
beyond.  Seaward  was  the  extended  ice  of  Polaris 
Bay,  and  the  intervening  shore  strown  with  great 
ice-blocks  in  wild  confusion.  About  five  hundred 
paces  away  was  the  little  hut  called  an  observa 
tory,  and  from  its  flag-staff  drooped  at  half-mast 
the  stars  and  stripes. 

Far  away  were  his  loved  family  and  friends, 
whose  prayers  had  followed  him  during  his  adven 
tures  in  the  icy  north,  who  even  now  hoped  for  his 
complete  success  and  safe  return  ;  and  far  away 
the  Christian  burial  place  where  it  would  have  been 
to  them  mournfully  pleasant  to  have  laid  him.  But 
he  who  had  declared  that  he  loved  the  Arctic  re 
gions,  and  to  whose  ears  there  was  music  in  its  wail 
ing  winds,  and  to  whose  eyes  there  was  beauty  in  its 
rugged,  icy  barrenness,  had  found  his  earthly  rest 
ing-place  where  nature  was  clothed  in  its  wildest 


Disaster.  349 

Arctic  features.     A  board  was  erected   over  his 
grave  in  which  was  cut : — 


C.  F.  HALL, 

Late  Commander  of  the  North  Polar  Expedition. 

Died  November  8,  1871, 

Aged  fifty  years." 

When  the  funeral  procession  had  returned  to 
the  ship,  all  moved  about  in  the  performance  of 
their  duty  in  gloomy  silence.  It  is  sad  to  record 
that  the  great  affliction  caused  by  the  death  of 
Hall  was  rendered  more  intense  by  the  moral  con 
dition  of  the  surviving  party.  Two  hideous  spec 
ters  had  early  in  the  expedition  made  their  ap 
pearance  on  board  the  "  Polaris."  They  were  the 
spirits  of  Rum  and  Discord !  Commander  Hall 
had  forbidden  the  admission  of  liquor  on  ship 
board,  but  it  had  come  with  the  medicines  whether 
of  them  or  not.  It  was  put  under  the  key  of  the 
locker,  but  it  broke  out — no,  we  will  not  do  injus 
tice  even  to  this  foulest  of  demons  :  an  officer, 
selected  to  guard  the  safety  and  comfort  of  the 
ship's  company,  broke  open  the  locker  and  let  it 
out.  This  brought  upon  him  a  reprimand  from 
Captain  Hall,  and  later  a  letter  of  stricture  upon 
his  conduct.  The  doctor's  alcohol  could  not  be 
safely  kept  for  professional  purposes,  which  raised 
"  altercations  "  on  board.  So  Rum  and  Discord, 
always  so  closely  allied,  went  stalking  through  the 


350  NORTH- POLE  VOYAGES. 

ship,  with  their  horrid  train.  Insubordination,  of 
course,  was  from  the  first  in  attendance.  Hall  had, 
it  would  seem,  in  part  persuaded  into  submission 
this  ghastly  specter.  Where,  on  shipboard,  the 
lives  of  all  depend  upon  submission  to  one  will, 
rebellion  becomes,  in  effect,  murder.  We  have 
seen  that  Dr.  Kane  argued  down  this  bloody  in 
truder  by  a  pistol  in  a  steady  hand  leveled  at  the 
head  of  the  chief  rebel ;  and  that  Dr.  Hayes  saved 
his  boat  party  by  the  same  persuasive  influence 
over  Kalutunah.  But  Hall  was  not  reared  in  the 
navy,  and  was  cast  in  a  gentle  mold. 

On  the  Sunday  following  the  burial  of  Hall 
it  was  announced  that  from  that  time  the  Sunday 
service  would  be  omitted.  "  Each  one  can  pray 
for  himself  just  as  well,"  it  was  remarked.  The 
faithful  chaplain,  however,  seems  to  have  held  re 
ligious  service  afterward  for  such  as  pleased  to 
attend.  Hall  had  taken  great  pleasure  in  it,  and 
it  had,  we  think,  attended  every  Arctic  expedition 
through  which  we  have  carried  the  reader. 

After  such  a  purpose  to  dismiss  public  worship 
from  the  vessel  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn 
that  "the  men  made  night  hideous  by  their  carous- 
ings."  Nature  without  had  ceased  to  distinguish 
night  from,  day,  and  our  explorers  did  not  follow 
the  example  of  their  predecessors  in  this  region, 
and  make  day  and  night  below  decks  by  requiring 
the  light  to  be  put  out  at  a  stated  hour.  So  the 
noise  and  card-playing  had  all  hours  for  their  own. 
Under  these  circumstances,  as  if  to  make  the 
"  Polaris  "  forecastle  the  counterpart  of  one  of 


Disaster.  351 

our  city  "  hells,"  pistols  were  put  into  the  hands 
of  the  men.  Discord  was  now  armed,  and  Alco 
hol  was  at  the  chief  place  of  command. 

The  Christmas  came,  but  no  religious  service 
with  it.  New- Year's  day  brought  nothing  special. 
The  winter  dragged  along  but  not  the  wind,  which 
roared  in  tempests,  and  rushed  over  the  floe  in 
currents  traveling  fifty-three  miles  an  hour.  It 
played  wild  and  free  with  the  little  bark  which  had 
intruded  upon  its  domains,  breaking  up  the  ice 
around  it,  and  straining  at  its  moorings  attached 
to  the  friendly  berg. 

Spring  came  at  last.  Hunting  became  lively 
and  successful.  His  majesty,  the  bear,  became 
meat  for  the  hunters  after  a  plucky  fight,  in  which 
two  dogs  had  their  zeal  for  bear  combat  fairly  sub 
dued.  Musk-oxen  stood  in  stupid  groups  to  be 
shot.  White  foxes  would  not  be  hit  at  any  rate. 
Birds,  trusting  to  their  spread  wings,  were  brought 
low,  plucked  and  eaten.  Seals  coming  out  of  their 
holes,  and  stretching  themselves  on  the  ice  to  en 
joy  dreamily  a  little  sunshine,  to  which  they  inno 
cently  thought  they  had  a  right  as  natives  of  the 
country,  were- suddenly  startled  by  the  crack  of 
the  rifles  of  Hans  and  Joe,  and  often  under  such 
circumstances  died  instantly  of  lead.  It  seemed 
hardly  fair.  In  fact  we  are  confident  that  the  ani 
mals  about  Polaris  Bay  contracted  a  prejudice 
against  the  strangers,  except  the  white  foxes,  who 
could  not  see  what  hurt  these  hunters  did — at  least 
to  foxes — and  they  were  of  a  mind  that  it  was 
decided  fun  to  be  hunted  bv  them. 


352  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

The  Esquimo  have  been  in  this  high  latitude  in 
the  not  distant  past,  as  a  piece  of  one  of  their 
sledges  was  found. 

Soon  after  Hall's  death  the  chief  officers  had 
mutually  pledged  in  writing  that,  "  It  is  our  hon 
est  intention  to  honor  our  flag,  and  to  hoist  it 
upon  the  most  northern  point  of  the  earth." 
During  the  spring  and  summer  some  journeys 
northward  were  made,  but  were  not  extended  be 
yond  regions  already  visited.  The  eye  which 
would  have  even  now  looked  with  hope  and  faith 
to  the  region  of  the  star  which  is  the  "  crowning 
jewel  "  of  the  central  north,  was  dim  in  death. 
Captain  Buddington,  now  in  chief  command,  had 
faith  and  hope  in  the  homeward  voyage  only. 

On  the  twelfth  of  August,  1872,  the  "Polaris  " 
was  ready,  with  steam  up,  for  the  return  trip.  On 
that  very  day  there  was  added  to  the  family  of 
Hans  a  son.  All  agreed  to  name  him  Charlie 
Polaris,  thus  prettily  suggesting  the  name  of  the 
late  commander  and  of  the  ship.  Little  Charlie 
was  evidently  disgusted  with  his  native  country, 
for  he  immediately  turned  his  back  upon  it,  the 
ship  steaming  away  that  afternoon.  The  "  Polaris  " 
had  made  a  tolerably  straight  course  up,  but  now 
made  a  zig-zag  one  back.  On  she  went,  steaming, 
drifting,  banging  against  broken  floes,  through  the 
waters  over  which  we  have  voyaged  with  Kane 
and  Hayes,  until  they  came  into  the  familiar  re 
gions  of  Hayes's  winter-quarters.  On  the  after 
noon  of  the  fifteenth  of  October  the  wind  blew  a 
terrific  gale  from  the  north-west.  The  floe,  in 


Disaster.  355 

an  angry  mood,  nipped  the  ship  terribly.  She 
groaned  and  shrieked,  in  pain  but  not  in  terror, 
for  with  her  white  oak  coat  of  mail  she  still  de 
fied  her  icy  foe,  now  rising  out  of  his  grasp,  and 
then  falling  back  and  breaking  for  herself  an 
easier  position.  The  hawsers  were  attached  to 
the  floe,  and  the  men  stood  waiting  for  the  result 
of  the  combat  on  which  their  lives  depended.  At 
this  moment  the  engineer  rushed  to  the  deck  with 
the  startling  announcement  that  the  **  Polaris  "had 
sprung  a  leak,  and  that  the  water  was  gaining  on 
the  pumps.  "  The  captain  threw  up  his  arms,  and 
yelled  the  order  to  throw  every  thing  on  the  ice." 
No  examination  into  the  condition  of  the  leak 
seems  to  have  been  made.  A  panic  followed,  and 
overboard  went  every  thing  in  reckless  confusion, 
many  valuable  articles  falling  near  the  vessel,  and, 
of  course,  were  drawn  under  by  her  restless  throes 
and  lost.  Overboard  went  boats,  provisions,  am 
munition,  men,  women,  and  children,  nobody  knew 
what  nor  who.  It  was  night — an  intensely  dark, 
snowy,  tempestuous  night. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  things,  when  the  ship's 
stores  and  people  were  divided  between  the  floe 
and  her  deck,  that  the  anchors  planted  in  the  floe 
tore  away,  and  the  mooring  lines  snapped  like 
pack-thread,  and  away  went  the  "  Polaris  "  in  the 
darkness,  striking  against  huge  ice-cakes,  and  drift 
ing  none  knew  where.  "  Does  God  care  for  spar 
rows  ?  "  and  will  he  not  surely  care  for  these  im 
periled  explorers,  both  those  in  the  drifting 
steamer,  and  those  on  the  floe  whom  he  alone  can 


356  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

save,  unhoused  in  an  Arctic  night  on  which  no  sun 
will  rise  for  many  weeks,  exposed  to  the  caprice 
of  winds,  currents,  and  the  ever  untrustworthy 
ice-raft  on  which  they  are  cast? 

We  will  leave  the  floe  party  awhile  in  His  care, 
and  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  brave  little  vessel 
and  her  men. 


The  Last  of  the  ^  Polaris  r  357 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

THE    LAST    OF    THE    "POLARIS." 

THOSE  left  on  board  of  the  "  Polaris  "  were 
oppressed  with  fears  both  for  themselves  and 
those  on  the  floe.  The  leak  in  the  ship  was  seri 
ous,  and  the  water  was  gaining  in  the  hold,  and 
threatened  to  reach  and  put  out  the  fires,  and  thus 
render  the  engine  useless.  Besides,  the  deck 
pumps  were  frozen  up,  and  only  two  lower  ones 
could  be  used.  But  "just  before  it  was  too  late," 
hot  water  was  procured  from  the  boiler  and  poured 
in  buckets-full  into  the  deck-pumps,  and  they  were 
thawed  out.  The  men  then  worked  at  the  pumps 
with  an  energy  inspired  by  imminent  danger  of 
death.  They  had  already  been  desperately  at 
work  for  six  unbroken  hours,  and  ere  long  the 
fight  for  life  was  on  the  verge  of  failure.  Just  then 
came  to  the  fainting  men  the  shout  "  steam's  up," 
and  tireless  steam  came  to  the  rescue  of  weary 
muscles. 

As  the  dim  light  of  the  morning  of  October 
sixteenth  dawned  on  the  anxious  watchers,  they 
saw  that  they  had  been  forced  by  the  violent  wind 
out  of  Baffin  Bay  into  Smith  Sound. 

Not  until  now,  since  the  hour  of  separation,  had 
they  counted  their  divided  company.  The  assist 
ant  navigator,  the  meteorologist,  all  the  Esquimo, 


358  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

and  six  seamen  were  missing ;  part  of  the  dogs 
had  also  gone  with  the  floe  party.  Fourteen  men 
remained,  including  the  commander  and  the  mate, 
the  surgeon,  and  the  chaplain. 

Men  were  sent  to  the  mast-head  to  look  for  the 
missing  ones,  but  the  most  careful  gaze  with  the 
best  glass  failed  to  discern  them.  Hope  of  their 
safety  was  inspired  by  the  fact  that  they  had  all 
the  boats,  even  to  the  little  scow ;  yet  it  was  not 
certainly  known  that  the  boats  had  not  been  sunk 
or  drifted  off  in  the  darkness,  and  thus  lost  to 
them.  So  all  was  tantalizing  uncertainty. 

An  examination  revealed  the  encouraging  fact 
that  a  good  supply  of  fuel  and  provisions  remained 
on  board.  A  breeze  sprung  up  at  noon  by  whose 
aid  the  "  Polaris "  was  run  eastward,  through  a 
fortunate  lead,  as  near  to  the  land  as  possible. 
Here  lines  were  carried  out  on  the  floe  and  made 
fast  to  the  hummocks,  all  the  anchors  having  been 
lost.  She  lay  near  the  shore,  and  grounded  at  low 
water.  An  examination  showed  that  the  vessel 
was  so  battered  and  leaky,  that  surprise  was  ex 
cited  that  she  had  not  gone  down  before  reaching 
the  shore.  It  was  decided  at  once  that  she  could 
not  be  made  to  float  longer.  The  steam-pumps 
were  stopped,  the  water  filled  her  hold,  and  de 
cided  her  fate. 

The  sheltered  place  into  which  the  "  Polaris  " 
had  by  Divine  guidance  entered  was  Life-Boat 
Cove,  only  a  little  north  of  Etah  Bay,  every  mile 
of  which  we  have  surveyed  in  former  visits.  The 
famous  city  of  Etah  with  its  two  huts  was  not  far 


The  Last  of  the  "Polaris"  359 

away,  but  out  of  it  and  its  vicinity  had  come  timely 
blessings  to  other  winter-bound  explorers. 

Our  party  at  once  commenced  to  carry  ashore 
the  provisions,  clothing,  ammunition,  and  all  such 
articles  from  the  vessel  as  might  make  them  com 
fortable.  The  spars,  sails,  and  some  of  the  heavy 
wood-work  of  the  cabin,  were  used  in  erecting  a 
house.  When  done  their  building  was  quite  com 
modious,  being  twenty-two  feet  by  fourteen.  The 
sails  aided  in  making  the  roof,  which  proved  to  be 
water-tight,  and  the  snow  thrown  up  against  the  sides 
made  it  warm.  Within,  it  was  one  room  for  all, 
and  for-all  purposes.  "  Bunks  "  were  made  against 
the  sides  for  each  of  the  fourteen  men.  A  stove 
with  cooking  utensils  was  brought  from  the  ship 
and  set  up;  lamps  were  suspended  about  the 
room,  and  a  table  with  other  convenience  from 
the  cabin  were  put  in  order. 

But  before  this  was  done  a  party  of  Esquimo  with 
five  sledges  made  their  appearance.  They  stopped 
at  a  distance,  and  signified  their  friendly  purpose 
by  their  customary  wild  gesticulations  and  antics. 
The  white  men  at  first  took  them  for  the  floe  party, 
and  raised  three  rousing  cheers  of  welcome.  We 
doubt  not,  though  it  is  not  stated,  that  they  were 
led  on  by  our  special  friend,  Kalutunah.  The 
surly  Sipsu,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  received 
what  he  had  sought  to  give  to  another,  a  harpoon 
planted  in  the  back,  and  was  dead.  So  there  was 
left  none  to  rival  Kalutunah.  Myouk,  the  boy 
that  was,  in  Kane's  day,  was  reported  as  an  old 
man  now.  Esquimo  grow  old  rapidly.  The  whole 


360  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

party  went  to  work  with  a  will,  having  pleasant 
visions  before  them  of  a  new  stock  of  needles, 
knives,  and  other  white-man  treasures.  They 
clambered  oyer  the  hummocky  floe,  bringing  loads 
of  coal  from  the  ship,  and  with  their  sleds  brought 
fresh-water  ice  for  the  melting  apparatus.  Sev 
eral  families  finally  came,  built  their  huts  near  the 
vessel,  and  spent  the  winter.  The  ship-wrecked 
whites  had  nearly  worn  out  their  fur  suits,  and 
their  supply  had  been  greatly  reduced  by  the 
losses  on  the  floe.  So  the  Esquimo  replenished 
their  stock,  and  their  women  repaired  the  worn 
ones.  Thus  God  makes'  the  humblest  and  the 
weakest  able  at  times  to  render  essential  help  to 
the  strong,  and  none  need  be  useless. 

The  winter  wore  off.  There  was  no  starvation, 
nor  even  short  rations.  The  coal  burned  cheer 
fully  in  the  stove  until  February,  and  then  fuel 
torn  from  the  "  Polaris  "  supplied  its  place.  The 
friendly  natives  brought  fresh  walrus  meat,  and 
scurvy  was  kept  away.  For  all  their  valuable 
services  the  Esquimo  felt  well  repaid  in  the  cov 
eted  treasures  which  were  given  them. 

The  time  during  the  sunless  days  was  passed 
in  reading,  writing,  amusements,  and  discussions, 
according  to  the  taste  and  inclination  of  each.  Of 
course  there  were  some  daily  domestic  duties  to 
be  done.  The  scientific  men  pursued  their  in 
quiries  so  far  as  circumstances  allowed. 

The  dismal  story  which  has  so  often  pained  our 
ears  concerning  the  Esquimo  was  true  of  them 
generally  during  the  winter — they  were  suffering 


The  Last  of  the  "Polaris"  361 

with  cold  and  hunger,  and  three,  one  of  whom  was 
Myouk,  died.  The  explorers  returned  the  Esqui 
mo  kindness  by  sharing  with  them,  in  a  measure, 
their  own  stock  of  provisions. 

The  spring  came,  and  with  it  successful  hunting. 
One  deer  was  shot,  and  some  hares  caught.  Ches 
ter,  the  mate,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  Yan 
kee  of  the  party,  planned,  and  assisted  the  car 
penter  in  building  two  boats.  The  material  was 
wrenched  from  the  "Polaris."  They  were  each 
twenty-five  feet  long  and  five  feet  wide,  square 
fore  and  aft,  capable  of  carrying,  equally  divided 
between  them,  the  fourteen  men,  two  months'  pro 
visions,  and  other  indispensable  articles.  When 
these  were  done  they  made  a  smaller  boat,  and 
presented  it  to  the  Esquimo ;  it  would  aid  them 
in  getting  eggs  and  young  birds  about  the  shore. 

Clear  water  did  not  reach  Life-Boat  Cove  until 
the  last  of  May.  On  its  appearance  in  the  imme 
diate  vicinity  the  waiting  explorers  put  every 
thing  in  readiness  for  their  departure.  The  boats 
were  laden,  and  each  man  assigned  his  place. 
Bags  were  made  of  the  canvas  sails  in  which  to 
carry  the  provisions.  What  remained  of  the  "  Po 
laris  "  was  given  to  the  Esquimo  chief — we  guess 
to  our  friend  Kalutunah — as  an  acknowledgment 
of  favors  received.  On  the  third  of  June,  in  fine 
spirits  and  good  health,  the  explorers  launched 
their  boats  and  sailed  southward.  At  first  the 
boats  leaked  badly,  but  they  sailed  and  rowed 
easily,  and  proved  very  serviceable.  It  was  con 
tinuous  day,  and  the  weather  favorable.  Seals 


362  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

could  be  had  for  the  pains  of  hunting  them,  and 
the  sea-fowl  were  so  plenty  that  ten  were  at  times 
brought  down  at  a  shot.  On  the  downward  trip 
old  localities  were  touched,  such  as  Etah,  Hakluyt 
Island,  and  Northumberland  Island.  The  average 
amount  of  Arctic  storms  were  encountered,  the 
drift  ice  behaved  in  its  usual  manner,  though  not 
as  badly  as  it  has  been  known  to  do.  The  little 
crafts  had  their  hair-bra»dth  escapes,  and  were 
battered  not  a  little.  Every  night,  when  the  toils 
of  the  day  were  over,  the  boats  were  drawn  upon 
the  floe,  every  thing  taken  out,  and  the  only  hot 
meal  of  the  day  was  prepared.  Each  boat  carried 
pieces  of  rope  from  the  "  Polaris,"  and  a  can  of 
oil.  With  these  a  fire  was  made  in  the  bottom  of 
an  iron  pot.  Over  this  fire  they  made  their  steam 
ing  pots  of  tea. 

The  party  halted  a  while  at  Fitz  Clarence  Rock 
in  Booth  Bay,  about  sixteen  miles  south  of  Cape 
Parry,  and  within  sight  of  the  high,  bleak  plain  on 
which  Dr.  Hayes's  boat-party  spent  their  fearful 
winter.  On  the  tenth  day  of  their  voyaging  they 
had  reached  Cape  York.  In  comparison  to  Dr. 
Kane's  trip  over  the  same  waters,  theirs  was  as  a 
summer  holiday  excursion.  But  Melville  Bay  was 
now  before  them  with  its  defiant  bergs,  hummocks, 
currents,  stormy  winds,  and  blinding  snows — a 
horrid  crew !  No  wonder  that  the  fear  prevailed 
among  them  that  if  not  rescued  they  could  never 
reach  any  settlement.  Chester,  however,  said, 
"We  can,  and  will."  But  the  rescuers  were  not 
afar  off.  For  another  ten  days  they  were  made  to 


The  Last  of  the  "Polaris"  363 

feel  that  their  battle  for  life  was  to  be  a  hard- 
fought  one.  On  the  twenty-third  they  saw,  away 
in  the  distance,  what  appeared  to  be  a  whaler. 
Could  it  be  !  They  dared  scarcely  trust  their  eyes, 
for  the  object  was  ten  miles  away.  Yes,  it  was  a 
steamer,  and  beset,  too,  so  she  could  not  get  away. 
New  courage  was  inspired,  and  they  toiled  on. 
But  for  this  timely  spur  to  their  zeal  they  would 
have  lost  heart,  for  one  of  the  boats  in  being  lifted 
over  the  hummocks  was  badly  stove,  and  their 
provisions  were  giving  out,  though  they  had  cal 
culated  that  they  had  two  months'  supply.  Soon 
after  they  saw  the  steamer  they  were  seen  by  the 
watch  from  the  mast-head.  They  were  taken  for 
Esquimo,  but  a  sharp  lookout  was  kept  upon  their 
movement,  which  soon  showed  them  to  be  white 
men.  Signals  of  recognition  were  immediately 
given,  and  eighteen  picked  men  were  sent  to  their 
relief.  Seeing  this,  Captain  Buddington  sent  for 
ward  two  men,  and  the  rescuers  soon  met  and  re 
turned  with  them.  With  even  this  addition  to 
their  strength,  it  took  six  hours  to  drag  the  boats 
the  twelve  miles  which  intervened  between  them 
and  the  whaler.  They  were  received  with  a  kind- 
hearted  welcome  by  the  noble  Scotchman,  Cap 
tain  Allen,  of  the  "  Ravenscraig,"  of  Dundee. 
Their  toils  were  over,  and  their  safety  insured. 
We  will  return  to  those  on  the  floe. 
23 


364  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

THE    FEARFUL    SITUATION. 

ONE  of  the  anchors  of  the  "  Polaris,"  in  start 
ing  on  the  night  of  the  separation,  tore  off  a 
large  piece  of  the  floe  with  three  men  upon  it. 
As  the  "  Polaris  "  swept  past  them  they  cried  out 
in  agony,  "  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  Captain  Bud- 
dington  shouted  back,  "  We  can  do  nothing  for 
you.  You  have  boats  and  provisions  ;  you  must 
shift  for  yourselves."  This  was  the  last  word  from 
the  "  Polaris." 

Seeing  the  sad  plight  of  these  men,  Captain 
Tyson,  who  from  the  first  had  been  upon  the  floe, 
took  "  the  donkey,"  a  little  scow  which  had  been 
tossed  upon  the  ice,  and  attempted  to  rescue  them. 
But  the  donkey  almost  at  once  sunk,  and  he 
jumped  back  upon  the  floe  and  launched  one  of 
the  boats.  Some  of  the  other  men  started  in  the 
other  boat  at  the  same  time,  and  the  three  men 
were  soon  united  to  the  rest  of  the  floe  party. 

One  of  the  last  things  Tyson  drew  out  of  the 
way  of  the  vessel  as  its  heel  was  grinding  against 
the  parting  floe  were  some  musk-ox  skins.  They 
lay  across  a  widening  crack,  and  in  a  moment 
more  would  have  been  sunk  in  the  deep,  or  crushed 
between  colliding  hummocks.  Rolled  up  in 
one  of  them,  and  cozily  nestling  together,  were 


The  Fearful  Situation.  365 

two  of  Hans's  children  !     Does  not  God  care  for 
children  ! 

Our  darkness  and  storm-beset  party  did  not  dare 
to  move  about  much,  for  they  could  not  tell  the 
size  of  the  ice  on  which  they  stood,  nor  at  what 
moment  they  might  step  off  into  the  surging  waters. 
So  they  rolled  themselves  up  in  the  musk-ox  skins 
and  slept !  Captain  Tyson  alone  did  not  lie  down, 
but  walked  cautiously  about  during  the  night. 
The  morning  came,  and  with  it  a  revelation  of 
their  surroundings.  Hugh  bergs  were  in  sight 
which  had  in  the  storm  and  darkness  charged 
upon  the  floe,  and  caused  the  breaking  up  of  the 
preceding  night.  It  had  been  a  genuine  Arctic 
assault.  Their  own  raft  was  nearly  round,  and 
about  four  miles  in  circumference,  and  immovably 
locked  between  several  grounded  bergs.  It  was 
snow-covered,  and  full  of  hillocks  and  intervening 
ponds  of  water  which  the  brief  summer  sun  had 
melted  from  their  sides.  Those  who  had  laid 
down  were  covered  with  snow,  and  looked  like 
little  mounds.  When  the  party  roused,  the  first 
thing  they  thought  of  was  the  ship.  But  she  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen.  A  lead  opened  to  the  shore 
inviting  their  escape  to  the  land.  Captain  Tyson 
ordered  the  men  to  get  the  boats  in  immediate 
readiness,  reminding  them  of  the  uncertainty  of 
the  continued  opening  of  the  water,  and  of  the 
absolute  necessity  of  instant  escape  from  the  floe 
in  order  to  regain  the  ship  and  save  their  lives. 
But  the  men  were  in  no  hurry,  and  obedience  to 
orders  had  long  been  out  of  their  line.  They 


366  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

were  hungry  and  tired,  and  were  determined  to  eat 
first;  and  they  didn't  want  a  cold  meal,  and  so 
they  made  tea  and  chocolate,  and  cooked  canned 
meat.  This  done  they  must  change  their  wet 
clothes  for  dry  ones. 

In  the  mean  time  the  drifting  ice  was  in  a  hurry 
and  had  shut  up  in  part  the  lead.  But  Tyson  was 
determined  to  try  to  reach  the  shore  though  the 
difficulties  had  so  greatly  increased  during  the 
delay.  The  boats  were  laden  and  launched,  but 
when  they  were  about  half  way  to  the  shore  the 
lead  closed,  and  they  returned  to  the  floe  and 
hauled  up  the  boats.  Just  then  the  "  Polaris  " 
was  seen  under  both  steam  and  sail.  She  was 
eight  or  ten  miles  away,  but  signals  were  set  to 
attract  her  attention,  and  she  was  watched  with  a 
glass  with  intense  interest  until  she  disappeared 
behind  an  island.  Soon  after,  Captain  Tyson  sent 
two  men  to  a  distant  part  of  the  floe  to  a  house 
made  of  poles,  which  he  had  erected  for  the  stores 
soon  after  they  began  to  be  thrown  from  the  ves 
sel.  In  going  for  these  poles  the  steamer  was  again 
seen,  apparently  fast  in  the  ice  behind  the  island. 
She  could  not  then  come  to  the  floe  party,  being 
beset  and  without  boats,  and  so  Tyson  ordered  the 
men  to  get  the  boats  ready  for  another  attempt  to 
reach  the  land,  and  thus  in  time  connect  with  the 
vessel.  He  lightened  the  boats  of  all  articles  not 
absolutely  necessary,  that  they  might  be  drawn  to 
the  water  safely  and  with  speed.  He  then  went 
ahead  to  find  the  nearest  and  best  route  for  em 
barking.  The  grounded  bergs  in  the  mean  while. 


The  Fearful  Situation.  367 

relaxed  their  grasp  upon  the  explorers'  ice-raft, 
and  they  began  to  drift  southward.  With  mali 
cious  intent,  on  came  a  terrific  snow-storm  at  the 
same  time.  Tyson  hurried  back  to  hasten  up  the 
men.  They  were  in  no  hurry,  but,  with  grumbling 
and  trifling,  finally  made  ready  ?s  they  pretended, 
one  boat  crowded  with  every  thing  both  needful 
and  worthless.  When  at  last  it  was  dragged  to- 
the  water's  edge,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  larger 
part  of  the  oars  and  the  rudder  had  been  left  at 
the  camp  far  in  the  rear.  In  this  crippled  condi 
tion  the  boat  was  launched.  But  not  only  oars 
and  rudder,  but  will  on  the  part  of  the  men  was 
wanting.  So  the  boat  was  drawn  upon  the  floe, 
and  left  with  all  its  valuables  near  the  water.  The 
night  was  approaching,  the  storm  was  high,  and 
the  men  were  weary,  so  no  attempt  was  made  to 
return  it  to  the  old  camp.  All  went  back  to  the 
middle  of  the  floe.  Tyson,  Mr.  Meyers,  one  of 
the  scientific  corps,  and  the  Esquimo,  made  a  can 
vas  shelter,  using  the  poles  as  a  frame,  and  the 
others  camped  near  them.  Captain  Tyson,  after 
eating  a  cold  supper,  rolled  himself  in  a  musk-ox 
skin,  and  lay  down  for  the  first  sleep  he  had  sought 
for  forty-eight  hours.  His  condition  seemed  to  be 
a  specially  hard  one.  While,  on  the  night  of  the 
great  disaster,  he  was  striving  to  save  the  general 
stores,  the  saving  of  which  proved  the  salvation 
of  the  company,  others  were  looking  after  their 
personal  property,  so  they  had  their  full  supply  of 
furs  and  fire-arms,  while  his  were  left  in  the  ship. 
He,  however,  slept  soundly  until  the  morning, 


368  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

when  he  was  startled  by  a  shriek  from  the  Esqui- 
mo.  The  floe  had  played  them  an  Arctic  trick; 
it  had  broken  and  set  the  whole  party  adrift  on  an 
ice-raft  not  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
square.  What  remained  of  their  old  floe  of  four 
miles'  circumference  contained  the  house  made  of 
poles,  in  which  remained  six  bags  of  bread,  and 
the  loaded  boat,  in  which  were  the  greater  part  of 
their  valuables.  Here  was  a  fearful  state  of  things ! 
Yet  one  boat  remained  with  which  they  might  have 
gone  after  the  other  one,  but  the  men  seemed  in 
fatuated  and  refused  to  go.  Away  the  little  raft 
sailed,  crumbling  as  it  went,  assuring  its  passengers 
that  they  must  all  stow  away  in  their  one  boat  or 
soon  be  dropped  in  the  sea.  For  four  days  they 
thus  drifted,  during  which  the  Esquimo  shot  sev 
eral  seals.  On  the  twenty-first  Joe  was  using  the 
spy-glass,  and  suddenly  shouted  for  joy.  He  had 
spied  the  lost  boat  lodged  on  a  part  of  the  old  floe 
which  had  swung  against  the  little  raft  of  our  party. 
He  and  Captain  Tyson,  with  a  dog-team,  instantly 
started  for  it,  and  after  a  hard  pull  returned  with 
boat  and  cargo.  Soon  after,  their  old  floe,  in  an 
accommodating  mood,  thrust  itself  against  the 
one  they  were  on,  the  boats  were  passed  over, 
and  every  thing  was  again  together — boats  and 
provisions. 

Let  us  now  look  around  upon  our  party  more 
critically.  The  whole  number  was  twenty,  includ 
ing  the  ten  weeks'  old  Charlie  Polaris,  who,  of 
course,  was  somebody.  As  we  have  stated,  all  the 
Esquimo  were  of  this  party.  Both  the  cook  and 


The  Fearful  Situation.  369 

steward  were  here.  Much  the  larger  number  of 
the  dogs  belonging  to  the  expedition  were  on  the 
floe,  but  no  sledges.  Fortunately,  in  addition  to 
the  two  boats,  one  of  the  kayaks  had  been  saved. 
It  might,  in  the  skillful  hands  of  a  Joe,  meet  some 
emergency. 

As  there  was  only  faint  hope  now  of  again  see 
ing  the  "  Polaris,"  and  as  their  ice-boat  seemed  to 
sail  farther  and  farther  from  the  shore,  they  began 
to  make  the  best  winter-quarters  their  circum 
stances  allowed.  Under  the  direction  of  Joe,  as 
architect  and  builder,  several  snow  houses  were 
put  up.  One  was  occupied  by  Captain  Tyson  and 
Mr.  Myers ;  one  by  Joe  and  family ;  a  larger  one 
by  the  men;  and  one  was  used  for  the  provisions, 
and  one  for  a  cook  house.  All  these  were  united 
by  an  arched  passage  way.  Hans  and  family  lo 
cated  their  house  apart  from  the  others,  but  near. 

The  huts  erected,  their  next  pressing  need  was 
sledges.  The  men,  with  great  difficulty,  dragged 
some  lumber  from  the  old  store-house,  and  a 
passable  one  was  made. 

Though  the  quantity  of  provisions  was  quite  large, 
yet  with  nineteen  persons  to  consume  it,  (not  to 
reckon  little  Charlie's  mouth,  who  looked  else 
where  for  his  supply.)  and  with  possibly  no  addi 
tion  for  six  months,  it  was  alarmingly  small.  Be 
sides,  in  their  unprincipled  greed,  some  of  the 
party  broke  into  the  store-room  and  took  more 
than  a  fair  allowance.  So  the  party  agreed  upon 
two  meals  a  day,  and  a  weighed  allowance  at  each 
meal. 


370  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

It  was  now  the  last  of  October.  The  sun  had 
ceased  to  show  his  pleasant  face,  and  the  long 
night  was  setting  in.  To  add  to  their  discomfort, 
the  question  of  light  and  fuel  assumed  a  serious 
aspect.  The  men,  either  from  want  of  skill  or 
patience,  or  both,  did  not  succeed  well  in  using 
seal  fat  for  these  purposes,  in  the  Esquimo  fash 
ion;  so  they  began,  with  a  reckless  disregard  to 
their  future  safety,  to  break  up  and  burn  one  of 
the  boats. 

Hans,  with  a  true  Esquimo  instinct,  when  the 
short  allowance  pinched  him,  began  to  kill  and 
eat  the  dogs.  He  might  be  excused,  however. 
Four  children,  with  their  faces  growing  haggard, 
looked  to  him  for  food. 

Thus  situated,  our  floe  party  drifted  far  away 
from  the  land — drifting  on  and  on,  whether  they 
slept  or  woke — drifting  they  knew  not  to  what 
end. 


The   Wonderful  Drift.  371 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

THE     WONDERFUL     DRIFT. 

EARLY  in  November  Captain  Tyson  saw 
through  his  glass,  about  twelve  miles  off  to 
the  southeast,  the  Gary  Islands,  so  they  were  in 
the  "  North  water  "  of  Baffin  Bay,  and  south-west 
from  Cape  Parry,  where  we  have  been  so  many 
times.  From  this  cape,  or  a  little  south  of  it,  it 
would  not  be  a  great  sledge  trip  to  where  they  last 
saw  the  "  Polaris,"  and  where  they  had  reason  to 
think  she  now  was.  So  our  party  made  one  more 
effort  to  reach  the  shore.  The  boats  being  in 
readiness  the  night  before,  they  started  early  in 
the  morning.  Of  course  their  day  was  now  only 
a  noon  twilight,  and  the  morning  was  most  mid 
day.  But  the  floe  was  not  in  a  favoring  mood. 
The  hummocks  were  as  hard  in  their  usage  of  the 
boats  and  men  as  usual.  The  deceitful  cracks  in 
the  ice  at  one  time  put  the  lives  of  the  dogs  and 
men  in  great  peril ;  and,  as  if  these  obstacles  were 
not  enough,  a  storm  brought  up  its  forces  against 
them.  They  had  dragged  the  boats  half  way  to 
the  shore  when  they  retreated  "before  superior 
forces." 

Their  huts  being  of  perishable  material,  were 
reconstructed.  A  little  later  the  men  built  a  large 
snow  hut  as  "a  reserve."  All  were  weak  through 


372  NORTH-POLE   VOYAGES. 

insufficient  food.  Mr.  Meyers  was  nearly  pros 
trate,  and  went  to  live  with  the  men  ;  Captain 
Tyson,  whose  scanty  clothing,  added  to  care  and 
short  rations,  caused  him  to  suffer  much,  took  up 
his  quarters  with  Joe  and  Hannah,  and  their  little 
Puney.  Not  the  least  of  the  trial  in  the  Esquimo 
huts  were  the  piteous  cries  of  the  children  for 
food.  Joe  and  Hans  were  out  with  their  guns 
every  day  during  the  three  hours'  twilight,  hunting 
seals.  The  first  one  captured  was  shot  by  Joe, 
November  sixth.  Nearly  two  weeks  passed  before 
any  further  success  attended  the  hunters;  then 
several  were  shot,  and  Captain  Tyson,  who  was 
ready  to  perish,  had  one  full  meal — a  rneal  of  un 
cooked  seal  meat,  skin,  hair,  and  all,  washed  down 
with  seal  blood.  Some  others  had  not  been  so 
long  without  a  full  meal,  as  the  bread  continued 
to  be  stolen. 

The  home  Thanksgiving  Day  came.  A  little 
extra  amount  of  the  canned  meat  was  allowed 
each  one,  and  all  had  a  taste  of  mock-turtle  soup 
and  canned  green  corn,  kept  for  this  occasion,  to 
which  was  added  a  few  pieces  of  dried  apple. 
How  far  it  all  fell  short  of  the  home  feast  may  be 
judged  by  the  fact  that  Captain  Tyson,  to  satisfy 
the  fierce  hunger  which  remained  after  dinner, 
finished  "  with  eating  strips  of  frozen  seals'  en 
trails,,  and  lastly  seal  skin,  hair  and  all." 

The  hunters  had  seen  tracks  of  bears,  so  they 
were  on  the  lookout  for  them  while  they  hunted 
seal.  One  day  Joe  and  Hans  went  out  as  usual 
with  their  guns.  They  lost  sight  of  each  other 


The   Wonderful  Drift.  373 

and  of  the  camp.  Joe  returned  quite  late,  expect 
ing  to  find  Hans  already  in  his  hut.  When  he 
learned  that  he  had  not  returned,  he,  as  well  as 
others,  felt  concerned  about  him.  Accompanied 
by  one  of  the  men,  he  went  in  search  of  him.  As 
the  two,  guns  in  hand,  were  stumbling  over  the 
hummocks,  they  saw  in  the  very  dim  twilight,  as 
they  thought,  a  bear.  Their  guns  were  instantly 
leveled  and  brought  to  the  sight,  and  their  mouths 
almost  tasted  a  bear-meat  supper.  "  Hold  on 
there!  That's  not  a  bear!  what  is  it?"  "Why, 
it's  Hans !  "  Well,  he  did  look  in  the  darkness 
like  a  bear,  as  in  his  shaggy  coat  he  clambered, 
on  all-fours,  over  the  ice-hills. 

December  came  in  with  its  continuous  night. 
Seals  could  not  be  successfully  hunted  in  the  dark 
ness,  and  where  seals  could  not  be  seen  bears 
would  not  make  their  •(pearance.  The  rations  be 
came  smaller  than  ever,  and  ghastly,  horrid  starva 
tion  seemed  encamped  among  our  drifting,  forlorn 
party.  Under  these  circumstances  a  specter  even 
worse  than  starvation  appeared  to  Joe.  To  him, 
at  least,  it  was  a  terrifying  reality.  It  was  the 
demon  form  of  Cannibalism !  He  had  looked 
into  the  eyes  of  the  men  in  the  big  hut,  and  they 
spoke  to  him  of  an  intention  to  save  themselves 
by  first  killing  and  eating  Hans  and  family,  and 
then  taking  him  and  his.  He  and  Hannah  were 
greatly  terrified,  and  he  handed  his  pistol  to  Cap 
tain  Tyson,  which  he  was  not  willing  to  part 
with  before.  He  was  assured  that  tthe  least 
child  should  not  be  touched  for  so  horrid  a  pur- 


374  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

pose  without  such  a  defense  as  the  pistol  could 
give. 

Christmas  came.  The  last  ham  had  been  kept1 
for  this  occasion,  and  it  was  divided  among  all, 
with  a  few  other  dainties,  in  addition  to  the  usual 
morsel. 

The  shore  occasionally  appeared  in  the  far  away 
distance.  They  were  drifting  through  Baffin  Bay 
toward  the  western  side,  so  that  their  craft  evidently 
did  not  intend  to  land  them  at  any  of  the  familiar 
ports  of  Greenland.  It  seemed  to  have  an  ambi 
tion  to  drop  them  nearer  home. 

As  the  year  was  going  out,  and  Joe's  family  were 
gnawing  away  at  some  dried  seal  skin,  submitted, 
to  be  sure,  to  a  process  Hannah  called  cooking,  a 
shout  \vas  heard  from  him.  "  Kayak  !  kayak  !  "  he 
cried.  He  had  shot  a  seal,  and  it  was  floating 
away.  Fortunately  the  kayak  was  at  hand,  and  the 
game  was  bagged.  As  usual,  it  was  divided  among 
all.  The  eyes  were  given  to  Charlie  Polaris,  and 
they  were  nice  in  his  eyes,  and  mouth,  too. 

New  Years  came,  and  Captain  Tyson  dined  on 
two  feet  of  frozen  seal  entrails,  and  a  little  seal 
fat.  There  was  now  nothing  to  burn  except  what 
little  seal  blubber  they  could  spare  for  that  pur 
pose.  One  boat  had  been  burned,  their  only  sled 
had  gone  the  same  way,  and  the  reckless,  desper 
ate  men  could  hardly  be  restrained  from  burning 
the  only  one  now  remaining,  and  thus  cut  off  all 
good  hope  of  final  escape.  To  be  sure,  their 
provocation  to  this  act  was  very  great ;  the  tem 
perature  was  thirty-six  below  zero  !  In  their  strait, 


The    Wonderful  Drift.  375 

the  desperate  expedient  was  entertained  of  trying 
to  get  to  land.  The  emaciated  men  would  have  to 
drag  the  loaded  boat  over  the  hummocky  ice  with 
out  a  sledge.  The  women  and  children  must  be 
added  to  the  load  or  abandoned.  It  would  be  a 
struggle  for  life  against  odds  more  fearful  than 
that  which  now  oppressed  them.  But  what  should 
they  do  !  God  knew  !  Hark  !  what  shout  is  that ! 
"  Kayak  !  kayak  !  "  The  kayak  was  at  hand,  but  it 
had  to  be  carried  a  mile.  Yet  it  paid,  for  a  seal 
shot  by  Joe  was  secured  just  in  time  to  keep  the 
men  from  utter  desperation.  To  this  item  of  com 
fort  another  was  added  a  few  days  later.  The  sun 
reappeared  January  nineteenth,  after  an  absence 
of  eighty-three  days,  and  remained  shining  upon 
them  two  hours.  He  brought  hope  to  fainting 
hearts.  Through  January  there  was  a  seal  taken  at 
long  intervals,  but  one  always  came  just  before  it 
was  too  late  !  The  men  continued  to  grumble  and 
deceive  themselves  with  the  idea  of  soon  getting 
to  Disco,  "where  rum  and  tobacco  were  plenty." 
How  sad  that  man  can  sink  below  the  brute,  which, 
however  hungry,  never  cries  out  for  "  rum  and 
tobacco !  " 

Leaving  for  a  moment  the  white  men,  let  us 
look  into  the  Esquimo  huts  and  see  how  the  terri 
ble  condition  of  things  affects  them.  The  men 
are  almost  always  out  hunting,  but  just  now,  as  we 
step  into  Joe's  snow  dwelling,  he  is  at  home.  The 
only  light  or  fire  is  that  which  comes  from  the 
scanty  supply  of  seal  oil.  Captain  Tyson  is  trying 
to  write  with  a  pencil  in  his  journal,  but  he  ap- 


3/6  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

pears  cold  in  his  scanty  covering  of  furs,  and  looks 
weak  and  hungry.  Joe  and  Hannah  are  striving 
to  pass  away  the  weary  hours  by  playing  checkers 
on  an  old  piece  of  canvas  which  the  captain  has 
marked  into  squares  with  his  pencil.  They  are 
using  buttons  for  men,  and  seem  quite  interested 
in  the  game.  Little  Puney  is  sitting  by,  wrapped  in 
a  musk-ox  skin,  uttering  at  intervals  a  low,  plaint 
ive  cry  for  food.  It  is  the  most  cheerful  home 
"  on  board "  the  floe,  but  surely  it  is  cheerless 
enough. 

We  shall  not  wish  to  tarry  long  in  the  hut  of 
Hans,  for  besides  the  unavoidable  misery  of  the 
place,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hans  are  noted  for  the  board 
ers  they  keep — about  their  persons.  Under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances  they  regard  bathing 
as  one  of  the  barbarous  customs  of  civilization. 
The  reader  will  recollect  that  the  first  experience 
Mrs.  Hans  had  of  a  personal  cleansing  was  on 
board  Dr.  Hayes's  vessel,  and  she  then  thought  it 
a  joke  imposed  by  the  white  people's  religion,  too 
grievous  to  be  borne.  On  another  exploring  ves 
sel  she  and  her  husband  were  cruelly  required  to 
put  off  their  long-worn  garments,  wash  and  put 
on  clean  ones,  and  put  the  old  "in  a  strong 
pickle,"  for  an  obvious  reason.  It  is  not  certainly 
known  that  they  were  ever  washed  at  any  other 
times. 

Mrs.  Hans's  hut  is  not  in  the  most  tidy  order, 
but  the  circumstances  must  be  taken  into  the  ac 
count,'  and  also  the  fact  of  the  sad  neglect  of  her 
early  domestic  education.  We  have  just  drifted 


The   Wonderful  Drift.  377 

from  her  native  land — or,  rather,  ice — where  she 
was  married,  in  Dr.  Kane's  time,  it  being  a  run 
away  match,  at  least  on  the  part  of  the  hus 
band. 

Well,  here  they  are,  father,  mother,  and  four 
children,  on  a  voyage  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
navigation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hans  do  not  play  any 
household  games;  they  do  not  know  what  to  do  at 
home,  except  to  eat,  and  feed  the  children,  and 
make  and  mend  skin  clothing.  We  know  full  well 
to  what  sad  disadvantage  the  eating  is  subjected 
at  the  time  of  our  call,  and  we  are  authorized  to 
say,  to  the  credit  of  Mrs.  Hans,  that  as  to  the 
making  and  mending,  she  has  been  of  real  service 
to  the  men  on  this  voyage. 

The  children  of  Hans  cannot  fail  to  attract  our 
attention  and  sympathy.  Augustina,  the  first-born, 
usually  fat  and  rugged  if  not  ruddy,  is  thin  and 
pale  now,  and  sits  chewing  a  bit  of  dried  seal 
skin,  or  something  of  the  sort,  and  trying  to  get 
from  it  a  drop  of  nourishment ;  her  brother,  Tobias, 
has  thrown  his  head  into  her  lap  as  she  sits  on  the 
ground.  The  poor  little  fellow  has  been  sick, 
unable  to  eat  even  the  small  allowance  of  meat 
given  him,  and  has  lived,  one  hardly  knows  how, 
on  a  little  dry  bread.  Succi,  the  four-year-old 
girl,  pquats  on  the  ground — that  is,  the  canvas- 
covered  ice  floor — hugging  her  fur  skin  about  her, 
and  in  a  low,  moaning  tone  repeats,  "  I  is  so  hun 
gry  !  "  Her  mother  is  trying  to  pick  from  the 
lamp,  for  the  children,  a  few  bits  of  "  tried-out  " 
scraps  of  blubber.  Little  Charlie's  head  is  just 


378  KORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

discernible  in  the  fur  hood  which  hangs  from  the 
mother's  neck  at  her  back.  If  he  gets  enough  to 
eat,  which  we  fear  is  not  the  case,  he  is  sweetly 
ignorant  of  the  perils  of  this,  his  first  trip,  in  the 
voyage  of  life.  We  shall  not  want  to  stay  longer 
in  this  sad  place. 

February  was  a  dreadful  month  on  board  the 
floe.  The  huts  were  buried  under  the  snow.  It 
was  with  difficulty  that  Joe  and  Hans,  almost  the 
entire  dependence  of  the  party,  could  go  abroad 
for  game,  and  when  they  did  they  secured  a  few 
seals  only,  very  small,  and  now  and  then  a  dovekie 
a  wee  bit  of  a.  pensive  sea-bird.  Norwhal,  the  sea 
unicorn,  were  shot  in  several  instances,  but  they 
sunk  in  every  case  and  were  lost.  Hunger  and 
fear  seemed  to  possess  the  men  in  the  large  tent, 
and  Joe  and  Hannah  began  to  be  again  terrified 
by  the  thought  that  these  hunger-mad  men  would 
kill  and  eat  them. 

Now,  will  not  God  appear  to  help  those  in  so 
helpless  a  condition  ?  Yes,  his  hand  has  ever 
been  wonderfully  apparent  in  all  Arctic  perils.  On 
the  second  of  March,  just  when  the  dark  cloud  of 
these  drifting  sufferers  was  never  darker,  it  parted, 
and  a  flood  of  light  burst  upon  their  camp.  Joe 
shot  an  oogjook,  belonging  to  the  largest  species  of 
seal.  He  was  secured  and  dragged  by  all  hands 
to  the  huts.  He  measured  nine  feet,  weighed 
about  seven  hundred  pounds,  and  contained,  by 
estimation,  thirty  gallons  of  oil.  There  was  a 
shout  of  seal  in  the  camp !  The  warm  blood  was 
relished  like  new  milk,  and  drank  freelv.  All  eat 


The   Wonderful  Drift.  379 

and  slept,  and  woke  to  eat  again,  and  hunger  de 
parted  for  the  time  from  the  miserable  huts  it  had 
so  long  haunted.  Joe  and  Hannah  dismissed  their 
horrid  visions  of  cannibalism.  God  was  the  helper 
of  these  hungry  ones,  and  they  were  helped. 
24 


380  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

THE    WONDERFUL     ESCAPE. 

OUR  voyagers  needed  all  the  strength  and 
courage  which  the  timely  capture  of  the 
great  seal  had  given  them.  They  had  drifted  into 
a  warmer  sea,  and  windy  March  was  well  upon 
them.  Their  floe  began  to  herald  its  fast  ap 
proaching  dissolution.  The  weary  and  anxious 
drifters  were  startled  by  day,  and  awakened  sud 
denly  by  night,  by  a  rumbling,  mingled  with 
fearful  grindings  and  crashes  underneath  them. 
Heavy  ice-cakes,  over-rode  by  the  heavier  floe, 
ground  along  its  under  surface,  and  when  finding 
an  opening  of  thin  ice,  rushed  with  a  thundering 
sound  to  the  upper  surface.  The  din  was  at  times 
so  great  that  it  seemed  to  combine  all  alarming 
sounds : — - 

"  Through  all  its  scale  the  horrid  discord  ran  ; 
Now  mocked  the  beast — now  took  the  groan  of  man." 

On  the  eleventh  a  storm  commenced.  Whole 
fleets  of  icebergs,  having  broken  away  from  the  icy 
bands  in  which  the  floe  had  held  them,  hovered 
round  to  charge  upon  the  helpless  campers.  The 
vast  area  of  ice  on  which  they  had  been  riding 
for  so  many  months  was  lifted  in  places  by  mighty 
seas  beneath,  causing  it  to  crack  with  a  succession 


The  Wonderful  Escape.  381 

of  loud  reports  and  dismal  sounds,  some  of  which 
seemed  to  be  directly  under  them.  The  wind 
drove  before  it  a  dense  cloud  of  snow,  so  that  one 
could  scarcely  see  a  yard.  Night  came  with  a 
darkness  that  could  be  felt.  The  icy  foundation 
of  their  camp  might  separate  at  any  momert,  and 
tumble  their  huts  about  their  ears,  or  plunge  them 
in  the  sea.  They  gathered  their  few  treasures  to 
gether,  and  stood  ready  to  fly — but  where?  Death 
seemed  to  guard  every  avenue  of  escape.  Sud 
denly,  soon  after  the  night  set  in,  the  disruption 
came.  Their  floe  was  shattered,  with  a  fearful  up 
roar,  into  hundreds  of  pieces,  and  they  went  surg 
ing  off  among  the  fragments  on  a  piece  less  than 
a  hundred  yards  square.  They  were  within  twenty 
yards  of  its  edge,  but  God  had  kindly  forbid  the 
separation  to  run  through  their  camp  and  sever 
them  from  their  boat  or  from  each  other. 

After  raging  sixty  hours  the  storm  abated,  and 
their  little  ice-ship  drifted  rapidly  in  the  pack.  A 
goodly  number  of  seals  were  shot,  and  they  began 
to  breathe  more  freely.  After  a  short  time  another 
oogjook  was  captured,  so  food  was  plenty. 

March  wore  away,  seals  were  plenty,  and  readily 
taken ;  and  though  the  bergs  ground  together  and 
made  fierce  onsets  into  the  pack,  our  ice-ship  held 
gallantly  on  her  way.  One  night  the  inmates  of 
Joe's  hut  were  about  retiring,  when  a  noise  was 
heard  outside.  "  What  is  it,  Joe  ?  is  the  ice  break 
ing  up  ?  "  Joe  does  not  stop  to  answer,  but  rushes 
out.  But  in  ten  seconds  he  comes  back  in  a  greater 
hurry,  pale  and  breathless.  "  There's  a  bear  close 


382  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

to  my  kayak,"  he  exclaims  in  an  excited  tone.  Now 
the  situation  was  this :  The  kayak  was  within  ten 
paces  of  the  entrance  to  the  hut,  and  the  loaded 
guns,  which  can  never  be  kept  in  an  Esquimo  hut 
on  account  of  the  moisture,  were  in  and  leaning 
against  the  kayak.  If  the  bear  should  take  a  no 
tion  to  put  his  nose  at  the  hut  door,  and,  liking 
the  odor,  knock  down  the  snow  wall  with  his 
strong  paw,  and  commence  a  supper  on  one  of  its 
inmates,  what  was  to  hinder  him  ?  But  bears,  like 
many  young  people,  often  fail  to  improve  their 
golden  opportunities.  He  found  some  seal  fat  and 
skins  in  the  kayak,  and  these  he  pulled  out,  and 
walked  off  with  them  a  rod  or  two  to  enjoy  the 
feast.  Joe  crept  out  of  the  hut,  and  ran  to  alarm 
the  men.  Captain  Tyson  followed,  slipped  softly 
up  to  the  kayak  and  seized  his  gun,  but  in  taking 
it  he  knocked  down  another  one  and  alarmed  the 
bear,  who  looked  up  and  growled  his  objections  to 
having  his  supper  disturbed.  Tyson  leveled  his 
rifle,  snapped  it,  but  it  missed  fire.  He  tried  a 
second  and  third  time,  and  it  did  not  go — but  he 
did,  for  his  bearship  was  taking  the  offensive. 
Content  to  see  his  enemy  flee,  the  bear  returned 
to  his  supper.  How  many  foolish  bears  have  we 
seen  on  our  explorations  lose  their  lives  by  an  un 
timely  eating ;  but  some  men,  more  foolish,  lose 
more  than  life  BY  DRINKING.  The  captain  returned 
to  the  field  with  a  new  charge  in  his  gun.  This 
time  it  sent  a  ball  through  the  bear ;  the  ball  enter 
ing  the  left  shoulder  and  passing  through  the  heart, 
came  out  at  the  other  side.  He  staggered,  but 


The  Wonderful  Escape.  383 

before  he  fell  Joe  had  sent  another  ball  into  his 
vitals.  He  dropped  dead  instantly.  This  affair 
occurred  when  it  was  too  dark  to  see  many  yards, 
and  was  much  pleasanter  in  its  results  than  in  its 
duration. 

The  seal  hunting  was  successful,  and  with  bear 
meat  and  blubber,  a  full  store,  there  was  no  hun 
ger  unappeased ;  but  the  wind  blew  a  gale,  and 
the  sailless,  rudderless,  oarless  little  ice-ship,  now 
banging  against  a  berg,  and  now  in  danger  of  be 
ing  run  down  by  one,  all  the  while  growing  alarm 
ingly  smaller,  finally  shot  out  into  the  open  sea 
away  from  the  floe.  This  would  not  do.  So,  feel 
ing  that  they  might  soon  be  dropped  into  the  sea, 
they  loaded  the  boat  with  such  things  as  was 
strictly  necessary,  and  all  hands  getting  aboard, 
sailed  away.  A  part  of  their  ammunition,  their 
fresh  meat,  a  full  month's  supply,  and  many  other 
desirable  things,  were  abandoned.  The  boat,  only 
intended  to  carry  eight  persons,  was  so  overloaded 
with  its  twenty,  including  children,  that  it  was  in 
danger  of  being  swamped  at  any  moment.  The 
frightened  children  cried,  and  the  men  looked  so 
ber.  They  sailed  about  twenty  miles  west,  and 
landed  on  the  first  tolerably  safe  piece  of  ice  which 
they  met.  Hans  and  family  nestled  down  in  the 
boat,  and  the  rest,  spreading  on  the  floe  what  skins 
they  had,  set  up  a  tent,  and  all,  after  eating  a  dry 
supper  of  bread  and  pemmican,  lay  down  to  rest. 
Thus,  boating  by  day,  and  camping  on  the  ice  at 
night  for  several  days,  they  drew  up  on  the  fourth 
of  April  upon  a  solid  looking  floe.  Snow-huts 


384  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

were  built,  seals  were  taken,  and  hope  revived. 
But  what  is  hope,  resting  on  Arctic  promises  ? 
The  gale  was  abroad  again,  the  sea  boisterous,  and 
their  floe  was  thrown  into  a  panic.  Fearful  noises 
were  heard  beneath  and  around  them,  and  their 
icy  foundations  quaked  with  fear.  Joe's  snow-hut 
was  shaken  down.  He  built  it  again,  and  then  lot 
and  house  fell  off  into  the  sea  and  disappeared. 
Thus  warned,  the  camp  was  pushed  farther  back 
from  the  water.  But  they  did  not  know  where  the 
crack  and  separation  would  next  come.  Thus 
they  lived  in  anxious  watchings  through  weary 
days,  the  gale  unabated.  Finally,  one  night,  the 
feared  separation  came.  All  hands  except  Mr. 
Meyers  were  in  the  tent ;  near  them,  so  near  a  man 
could  scarcely  walk  between,  was  the  boat,  con 
taining  Meyers  and  the  kayak  ;  but  with  mischiev- 
oustintent,  the  crack  run  so  as  to  send  the  boat 
drifting  among  the  breaking  and  over-lapping  ice. 
Mr.  Meyers  could  not  manage  it,  of  course,  under 
such  circumstances,  and  the  kayak  was  of  no  use 
to  any  but  an  Esquimo,  so  he  set  it  afloat,  hoping 
it  would  drift  to  the  floe-party.  Here  was  a  fear 
ful  situation  !  The  floe-party,  as  well  as  Mr.  Meyers, 
was  sure  to  perish  miserably  if  the  boat  was  not 
returned.  There  was  only  a  dim  light,  and  objects 
at  a  short  distance  looked  hazy.  It  was  a  time  for 
instant  and  desperate  action.  Joe  and  Hans  took 
their  paddles  and  ice-spears  and  started  for  the 
boat,  jumping  from  one  piece  of  floating,  slippery 
ice  to  another.  They  were  watched  in  breathless 
suspense  until  they  seemed,  in  the  shadowy  distance, 


The  Wonderful  Escape.  385 

to   have  reached  the   boat,  and  then  all  was  shut 
out  in  the  darkness. 

The  morning  came,  and  the  floe  party  were  glad 
to  see  that  the  boat  had  three  men  in  it.  It  was  a 
half  mile  off,  and  the  kayak  was  as  far  away  in  an 
other  direction.  It  was  soon  clear  that  the  boat 
could  not  be  brought  back  without  a  stronger 
force.  Tyson  led  the  way,  and  finally  all  but  two 
of  the  men  made  the  desperate  passage  of  the 
floating  ice  to  the  imperiled  craft.  It  was  with 
difficulty  that,  with  their  combined  force,  the  boat 
was  returned  to  the  floe.  The  kayak  was  also 
recovered. 

For  a  brief  time  there  was  quiet  all  around. 
The  aurora  gleamed,  and  displayed  its  wonderful 
beauty  of  form  and  motion;  while  the  majestic 
icebergs,  in  every  varied  shape,  reflected  its  spark 
ling  light.  The  grandeur  of  se'a  and  sky  seemed 
a  mockery  to  the  danger-beset  voyagers.  The 
elements  might  be  grand,  but  they  had  combined 
to  destroy  them,  for  a  new  form  of  peril  now  ap 
peared.  The  sea  came  ^aboard  of  their  icy  craft. 
They  were  sitting  one  evening  under  their  frail 
tent,  the  boat  near,  when  a  wave  swept  over  theirV 
floe,  carrying  away  tent,  clothing,  provisions — 
every  thing  except  what  was  on  their  persons  or 
in  the  boat.  The  women  and  children  had  been 
put  on  board  in  fear  of  such  an  occurrence,  and 
the  men  had  just  time  to  save  themselves  by 
clinging  to  the  gunwale.  The  boat  itself  was 
borne  into  the  middle  of  the  floe.  When  the  wave 
subsided  the  boat  was  dragged  back,  lest  another 


386  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

push  by  a  succeeding  one  might  launch  it  into  the 
sea  from  the  other  side.  It  was  well  they  did  this, 
for  another  wave  bore  it  to  the  opposite  edge  and 
partly  slipped  it  into  the  water.  This  game  of 
surging  the  boat  from  one  side  to  the  other  of  the 
floe,  was  kept  up  from  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening 
to  seven  in  the  morning.  All  this  time  the  men 
were  in  the  water,  fighting  the  desperate  battle  for 
its  safety,  and  the  preservation  of  their  own  lives ; 
the  conflict  being  made  more  terrible  by  the 
fact  that  every  wave  bore  with  it  ice-blocks  from 
a  foot  square  to  those  measuring  many  yards, 
having  sharp  edges  and  jagged  corners,  with  which 
it  battered  their  legs  until  they  were  black  and 
blue.  It  was  the  severest  test  of  their  courage 
and  endurance  yet  experienced.  But  God  was 
their  helper.  Not  one  perished,  and  when  the  de 
feated  sea  was  by  his  voice  commanded  to  retire, 
and  the  day  appeared,  they  were  not  seriously 
harmed.  But  they  were  cold  and  wet,  without  a 
change  of  clothes  and  utterly  provisionless. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  after  their  rough  hand 
ling  on  the  floe  they  should  seek  a  larger  and 
safer  one.  This  they  did,  launching  their  crowded 
boat  into  the  turbulent  sea,  and,  working  carefully 
along,  succeeded  in  landing  safely  on  one  stronger 
looking;  nothing  worse  happening  than  the  tum 
bling  overboard  of  the  cook,  who  was  quickly 
rescued.  Here,  cold,  half-drowned,  hungry,  and 
weary  to  faintness,  they  tried  to  dry  and  warm 
themselves  in  the  feeble  rays  of  the  sun,  and  wait 
for  their  food  at  the  hand  of  the  great  Provider 


The   Wonderful  Escape.  387 

in  the  use  of  such  means  as  were  yet  left  to  them. 
They  had  preserved  their  guns  and  a  small  supply 
of  powder  and  shot.  Snow  and  rain  came  on,  and 
continued  until  noon  of  the  next  day,  April  twen 
ty-second.  Their  hunger  was  fearful.  Mr.  Mey 
ers  had  been  slightly  frost-bitten  when  drifting 
away  alone  in  the  boat,  his  health  seemed  broken, 
and  he  was  actually  starving. 

In  the  afternoon  of  this  day  Joe  went  as  usual 
with  his  gun.  He  had  caught  nothing  on  this 
floe,  and  now  there  were  no  signs  of  seals,  though 
it  was  his  fourth  time  out  that  day.  What  should 
they  do  ?  God  had  their  relief  all  arranged.  Joe 
saw  what  he  did  not  expect  to  see,  and  what  was 
seldom  seen  so  far  south — a  bear !  He  ran  back 
to  the  boat,  called  Hans  with  his  trusty  rifle,  and 
the  two  lay  down  behind  the  hummocks.  All 
were  ordered  to  lie  down,  keep  perfectly  quiet, 
and  feign  themselves  seals,  the  Esquimo  helping 
out  the  deception  by  imitating  the  seal  bark. 
Bruin  came  on  cautiously.  He,  too,  was  hungry. 
What  are  those  black  objects,  and  what  is  that 
noise,  he  seemed  to  say  ?  They  don't  look  quite 
like  seals  !  The  noise  is  not/ky/  like  the  seal  cry  ! 
But  hunger  is  a  weighty  reason  with  men  and 
bears,  on  the  side  of  what  they  desire  to  believe, 
so  the  bear  came  on.  When  fairly  within  an  easy 
range  both  rifles  cracked,  and  he  fell  dead.  The 
whole  party  arose  with  a  shout.  Polar  was 
dragged  to  the  boat  and  skinned.  His  warm  blood 
slaked  their  raging  thirst.  His  meat,  tender  and 
good,  satisfied  their  gnawing  hunger,  They  were 


388  NORTH- POLE  VOYAGES. 

saved  from  a  terrible  death !     Seals  were  secured 
soon  after,  and  hope  again  revived. 

It  was  not  long  before  their  ice-craft  crumbled 
away,  so  they  were  obliged  to  repeat  the  experi 
ment,  always  full  of  danger,  of  launching  into  the 
sea  and  making  for  a  larger  and  safer  one.  April 
twenty-eighth  they  were  beset  by  a  fleet  of  bergs, 
which  were  crashing  against  each  other  with  a 
thundering  noise,  and  occasionally  turning  a  threat 
ening  look  toward  the  frail  craft  of  our  drifters. 
So  angrily  at  last  did  one  come  down  upon  them 
that  they  abandoned  their  floe  and  rowed  away. 
Surely  there  is  no  peace  for  them  by  night  or  day. 
on  the  floe  or  afloat  in  their  boat.  They  dare  not 
lie  down  a  moment  without  keeping  one  half  of 
their  number  on  the  watch.  But  what  is  that  in 
the  distance  ?  A  steamer  !  A  thrill  of  joy  goes 
through  the  boat's  company.  Every  possible  sig 
nal  is  given,  but  she  does  not  see  them,  and  an 
other  night  is  spent  on  the  floe.  The  next  morn 
ing  every  eye  was  straining  to  see  a  whaler.  Soon 
one  appears.  They  shout,  raise  their  signals,  and 
fire  every  gun  at  once.  But  she  passes  out  of 
sight.  April  thirtieth,  as  the  night  was  setting  in 
foggy  and  dark,  the  shout  from  the  watch  of 
"steamer"  brought  all  to  their  feet.  She  was 
right  upon  them  in  the  fog  before  she  was  seen. 
Hans  was  soon  alongside  of  her  in  his  kayak,  tell 
ing  their  story  as  best  he  could.  In  a  few  mo 
ments  the  whaler  was  alongside  of  their  piece  of 
ice.  Captain  Tyson  removed  his  old  well-worn 
cap,  called  upon  his  men,  and  three  cheers  were 


The    Wonderful  Escape.  389 

given,  ending  with  a  "  tiger  "  such  as  the  poor  fel 
lows  had  not  had  a  heart  to  give  for  many  long 
mo-nths.  The  cheers  were  returned  by  a  hundred 
men  from  the  rigging  and  deck  of  the  vessel.  It  was 
the  sealer  "  Tigress,"  Captain  Bartlett,  of  Concep 
tion  Bay,  Newfoundland.  They  soon  had  the  planks 
of  a  good  ship  beneath  them  instead  of  a  treach 
erous  floe ;  curious  but  kind  friends  beset  them, 
instead  of  threatening  bergs ;  and  every  comfort 
succeeded  to  utter  destitution.  They  had  been 
on  the  floe  six  months,  and  floated  more  than  six 
teen  hundred  miles. 

They  were  speedily  conveyed,  by  the  way  of 
Conception  Bay  and  St.  Johns,  to  their  own  homes, 
the  telegraph  having  flashed  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land  their  coming,  and  the 
nation  rejoiced.  But  there  were  tears  mingled 
with  the  joy,  that  one,  the  noble,  the  true,  the 
Christian  commander  of  the  expedition,  Charles 
Francis  Hall,  lay  in  his  icy  grave  in  the  far  north. 

As  speedily  as  possible  the  "  Tigress  "  was  pur 
chased  and  fitted  out  by  the  United  States  Govern 
ment  in  search  of  the  "Polaris"  party.  Captain 
Tyson  and  Joe  were  among  her  men.  She  reached 
Life-boat  Cove  about  two  months  after  Captain 
Buddington  and  his  men  had  left.  They  learned 
that,  much  to  the  grief  of  the  natives,  the 
"  Polaris  "  had  floated  off  and  sunk.  The  Bud 
dington  party  arrived  home  in  the  fall,  by  the  way 
of  England. 

As  we  may  not  meet  our  Esquimo  friends  again, 
with  whom  we  have  made  so  many  voyages,  the 


3QO  NORTH-POLE  VOYAGES. 

reader  will  want  to  know  the  last  news  from  them. 
Hans  and  his  family  returned  to  Greenland  in  the 
"Tigress."  Joe  has  bought  a  piece  of  land  and 
a  house  near  New  London,  Connecticut,  and  in 
tends,  with  his  family,  to  remain  there,  getting  a 
living  by  fishing. 

Thus  ended  the  last  American  North  Pole  Ex 
pedition.  The  last  from  other  Governments  have 
not  been  more  successful.  Yet,  while  we  write, 
England  and  Austria  are  reported  as  getting  ready 
further  North  Polar  expeditions  to  start  in  the 
spring  of  1875.  It  must  be  allowed  that  the  icy 
sceptered  guardian  of  the  North  has  made  a  good 
fight  against  the  invaders  into  his  dominions.  But 
the  nations  of  the  earth  are  determined  to  send 
men  to  sit  on  his  throne,  though  they  find  it  a  bar 
ren  and  worthless,  as  well  as  a  cold  domain. 


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